A Million Pieces
by Gondawara Saburota
Summary: In a world where "Digimon" was only a TV show, Taichi and Yamato never actually met. When trouble brings Taichi to the town where Yamato lives, what fate lies in store for the two? AU-ish, Taito, some Takari
1. First Pieces: As It Began

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon, the characters, etc, etc. 

**Author's notes:**  
-In this story, Digimon is a TV show with characters based on real people. I'm using the American names when referring to the show, and the Japanese names when referring to the real people. Taichi and Yamato are 16 at the beginning of this story, and they're in their junior year of high school.  
-I'm honestly trying to keep everyone in character, but it's been a while since I've watched the show, so some people may be OOC! If there's any blatant OOC-ness, please let me know!  
-I expect this'll turn into Taito fluff, but I'm not sure yet. 

--

**The First Pieces: As It Began**

"_HEY! Ya' know how the characters from the first season were based on real people? Weeeeeeeell, I found out that my dad is friends with the dad of Matt, and I got to meet him! Isn't that cool!? : )_" 

Ishida Yamato stared at the computer screen. After a lengthy pause, he read it again, just to make sure he hadn't misread anything. No, the words he'd read were definitely correct. The content was what was wrong. 

Ah. Another person trying to be cool by saying he knew them. Of course. 

Yamato closed the laptop and handed it back to Koushirou, suddenly too tired to check the forums any longer. He smiled at the younger boy, thanking him for the loan of the computer, and walked out of the classroom. It was lunchtime, and he had more important matters to attend to. Food was especially high on the list. 

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he thought about what he'd read. The enormously popular show "_Digimon_" had begun as a contest. Kids who were between the ages of ten and fifteen could enter, and six would be chosen. Those six would have the characters in the show based on them. It was a harmless idea, but it had proved disastrous to Yamato. He hadn't entered the contest. He hadn't even _considered_ it. But yet, he won a place as one of the six. He had soon found out that his little brother Takeru had entered him, since he himself had been too young to enter. When the producers found out about Takeru, however, they couldn't resist adding a seventh character, despite Yamato's protests. They had also decided to add an eighth character, the younger sister of Tai Kamiya, but due to medical reasons, they weren't able to have her appear until later on in the show. 

Yamato hadn't met many of the other people behind the characters, so he wasn't sure how accurately they had all been portrayed. He, for one, had been portrayed almost _too_ accurately at first. When they first started animating the show, the producers had been very enthusiastic about getting the opinions of the children about what they'd say, what they'd do, how they'd react. But... at least in Yamato's case, they'd eventually stopped asking and did what they wanted with the character they'd based on him. When they decided to start a second show several years later, they completely disregarded Yamato's protests and decided that Matt would be dating Sora. Sora was a nice girl, Yamato had to admit, but he could never picture himself dating her. 

Aside from his brother, Takenouchi Sora and Izumi Koushirou were the only ones he actually knew from the show. Koushirou had insisted that his real name not be used, so the producers decided to call him "Izzy Izumi." Yamato had also insisted that his name and his brother's be changed, so they were known to the world as "Matt Ishida" and "T.K. Takaishi." The change hadn't been as drastic as Yamato had hoped for, and people had often tried to approach him to ask if he was Matt. He was thankful that a glare was usually enough to keep those people at bay. 

Yamato had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't realized that he'd already reached the cafeteria. He also hadn't realized that he'd been standing outside of it for several minutes, until he suddenly had the wind knocked out of him. A bushy-haired boy had run out of the cafeteria, barreling straight into him, and they both fell to the ground. The boy jumped up and apologized profusely before making a beeline away from the cafeteria. Yamato's brain didn't decide to register what had happened until the boy was already long-gone. When Yamato finally picked himself up off the ground, he was dismayed to find that the cafeteria had already closed. So much for lunch. 

Seconds later, the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch break, and Yamato sighed. Today was definitely not his day. 

--

Today, Yagami Taichi thought sullenly, was definitely not his day. 

As if transferring schools mid-year wasn't bad enough, his first day was only half over, and he'd already gotten in trouble. Twice. 

The first time he got in trouble, he could understand. He had tried his best to stay awake during his classes, but it was a losing battle; by second period, he was out like a light. A well-aimed eraser and a detention served to keep him awake long enough to make it to lunchtime. 

Lunch break had also gone less-than-spectacularly. The food from the cafeteria wasn't bad; in fact, compared to his previous school, the food was actually quite good. However, Taichi hadn't gotten much of a chance to enjoy said food. Shortly after he'd chosen a spot at an empty table, he'd learned _why_ it had been empty: it was the usual table for members of a local gang who attended the school. 

Taichi refused to be someone who'd be bullied. After exchanging a couple of punches with the gang members, someone he recognized from his first period class urged him to run away and not make the situation worse. The scared look on the girl's face told him that if he kept fighting, the gang would involve other people. Running was the last thing he wanted to do, especially since it meant abandoning his food, but he decided it was the best option at the moment. So he ran, straight out of the cafeteria and into a student who'd been standing outside. 

The two fell to the ground, but the other boy seemed to have not even noticed. Taichi quickly jumped to his feet and apologized before continuing to run. After a minute or two, he glanced over his shoulder to see if any of the gang members were following him and was surprised to find no one there. He had been certain that at least one of them had followed when he'd turned to run... 

Taichi stopped running and looked around. He was safe now, but he was also completely lost in the unfamiliar school. The bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch break. Sighing, Taichi asked the nearest student where he could find his next classroom, only to learn that it was on the opposite end of the campus from his current location. By the time he reached the room, he was extremely late. Today was _definitely_ not his day. 

--

Sixth period let out early, so Taichi had plenty of time to find the room for his last class. The room was easy enough to locate, and he poked his head inside to see whether it was empty or not. The only occupants of the room were a red-haired girl and a boy with a laptop. Taichi couldn't help but think the girl looked familiar... 

"Sora!" he cried in sudden recognition. "Hey, Sora, it's me, Taichi!" 

The girl looked up at him, a smile spreading across her face until she practically glowed with happiness. "Taichi! Wow, it's been a long time! How've you been? How's Hikari?" 

"We've both been doin' good," Taichi said, joining the two. 

"'Well,'" the boy with the laptop corrected. "You've been doing well." 

"Oh lighten up!" Sora told the boy, sticking her tongue out at him playfully. "Oh, Taichi, Koushirou, I don't think you two ever met. Taichi, this little punk is Izumi Koushirou--'Izzy Izumi.' And Kou-chan, this is Yagami Taichi, also known as--" 

"'Tai Kamiya,'" Koushirou finished. 

"You knew?" Sora asked, somewhat disappointed. 

"No, but it was obviously the logical conclusion. And I'd prefer that you refrain from calling me 'Kou-chan.'" 

Taichi stared at Koushirou as the latter resumed typing. Taichi grinned widely. "Nice to meet'chya, Kou-chan!" he said happily. 

Koushirou frowned at the continued use of the nickname. "Taichi, due to the name you used for _Digimon_, would I be correct in assuming that you do not wish for others to know that you were 'Tai Kamiya'?" 

"Uh... yeah..." Taichi said, shifting uncomfortably. "Well, the name change was something my mom insisted on, especially when the producers decided they wanted to have Hikari in the show eventually. I used to not care if people knew, but... I ran into a bit of trouble in my old town because of it." 

Sora thought for a moment, certain that she'd forgotten something. "Ah!" she said suddenly. "I know that you haven't met Ya--" 

"Sora," Koushirou interrupted, closing his laptop and looking at her pointedly. "Isn't your next class elsewhere?" 

"Uh, yeah, but..." 

"I'd suggest that you head to your classroom. The bell should be ringing soon." 

"Oh, don't worry about it, Kou-chan! I have plenty of time to get there." 

Koushirou stood, picking up his laptop and carrying it under his arm. "I really think you ought to arrive early today. I'll even escort you." 

Koushirou grabbed Sora's hand and dragged her out of the room. She waved goodbye to Taichi meekly. "See you later?" 

"Yeah, sure..." Taichi said as he waved back, somewhat confused. 

--

"Kou-chan! What was that all about?" Sora asked as they walked down the hall. Once they were well away from the classroom they'd left Taichi in, Koushirou had finally released her, and she was now walking beside him. 

"If I am not mistaken, you were about to tell him about Yamato." 

"Of course I was! Yamato and Taichi were both in the show, so what's your problem?" 

Koushirou stopped walking and narrowed his eyes. "I believe it would be best if those two did not know." 

Sora stopped a few steps past Koushirou and turned to face him. "What do you mean? They get along great!" she said, confused. 

"Correction: their _characters_ get along well. Taichi and Yamato are not Tai and Matt." Sora still looked puzzled, so Koushirou clarified, "Since I do not know Taichi well, I can really only guess about his behavior. However, it seems to me that Taichi would believe Yamato and 'Matt' to be the same, and would consider Yamato to be a long-time friend, despite the fact they've never met. Perhaps Yamato never told you, but he wanted nothing to do with _Digimon_. I'm sure we all have our own dislikes of how certain aspects of our characters were handled, but Yamato didn't have anything he _did_ like. In particular, he dislikes how it was decided that Matt and Tai would become friends. Perhaps if everything that had happened was real, they truly would have become friends, but the point is none of it actually happened. I find it highly unlikely that Yamato would hesitate in causing mortal harm to Taichi." 

Sora stared at Koushirou blankly. "Do you understand, Sora?" 

"Not at all," she responded, shaking her head slowly. 

Koushirou sighed. "In summary, if we tell Yamato and Taichi about each other, someone will probably come out of the mess severely injured." 

Sora laughed nervously. "Er... right. I won't say a word." 

--

**Author's notes again:** Um, right! Leave comments if you'd like, and I'll see you next chapter!!


	2. Second Pieces: Starting Point

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon, the characters, etc, etc. 

**Author's notes:**  
-First off, a huge **THANK YOU** to everyone who reviewed!  
-As a reminder, I'm using the American names when referring to the TV show of Digimon, and the Japanese names when referring to the "real people."  
-I'm still honestly trying to keep everyone in character, but it's been a while since I've watched the show, and this is a somewhat AU-ish story! If there's any blatant OOC-ness, though, please let me know!  
-This's almost definately gonna have some Taito fluff... eventually. If you don't like male/male pairings, don't read it! Simple, ne? 

--

**The Second Pieces: Starting Point**

Yamato tapped his fingers idly on his desk and glanced at his watch. There was still half an hour until the current class ended, but Yamato wished that it were already time to go home for the weekend so he could get away from all the people that a public place like school was filled with. He didn't like people. He didn't need people. And people sure as hell didn't need him. 

At the front of the classroom, the teacher had started off on some tangent. Most of the class was absorbed in his words, but Yamato wasn't interested. Instead, he tapped a rhythm on his desk and looked out of the window. He was glad he had a desk next to the window. Windows were one of the few things he liked. He liked music and cooking and ice cream and windows. 

Yamato wished again that the day would be over. If that were too much to ask, lunch break would have been nice, too. He glanced at his watch. Twenty-seven minutes left, and it was only second period. Yamato groaned inwardly. Today was gonna be hell. 

--

Taichi had decided that today would be Good Impression Day. Yesterday was _not_ Good Impression Day, but today _was_. In fact, it was Good Impression _Month_, starting today. Yesterday must've been Bad Impression Day, so he had to make the most of Good Impression Month to make up for it. And so far, Good Impression Day had gone quite well. 

He'd missed it yesterday because of his sleepiness, but he was pleased to discover that Sora was in both his first and third period classes. Koushirou was every bit as smart as his _Digimon_ counterpart had made him out to be, if not smarter, so the younger boy was in all the senior-level classes despite being a sophomore. Taichi was disappointed that he didn't have any classes with the computer-lover, but he had made another pleasant discovery in the form of a blonde in his second period class. If he were asked to describe the boy in just a few words, the only suitable description would be that they boy looked like a god. 

Taichi had sat behind the mysterious blonde, and he had decided that the other boy had _not_ been there yesterday. When the teacher started rambling about something that was definitely not related to the material he was supposed to teach, Taichi had decided to make the most of the opportunity by studying the blonde who had drawn his attention. Fortunately for Taichi, the blonde was looking out the window and thereby giving him a fairly good view of his face. His features looked as if they had been carefully chiseled by a talented sculptor, smooth and defined and without imperfection. He hair was fine and looked incredibly soft despite the somewhat spiky style it was carefully arranged into. Taichi had wanted to touch that hair, to find out if it was as soft as it looked... 

The bell had interrupted his thoughts at the time and the blonde had vanished, mostly forgotten until now. Now it was lunchtime, and as he walked into the sitting area of the cafeteria with Sora and Koushirou, he saw the blonde sitting at the end of an empty table. He decided quickly that he wanted to know the blonde's name and that Sora would know it. 

"Hey Sora... Who's the blonde god?" 

Sora followed Taichi's gaze and considered the blonde silently. Instead, Koushirou answered, "Ishida Yamato, god of ice. Secretly famous for what's been termed the 'Ishida greeting' by those who have received it." 

Taichi blushed slightly when he realized he'd voice the "god" part, but he was somewhat puzzled by Koushirou's brief description of the boy. 

"He's also famous for his good looks, you know," Sora said, looking at Koushirou. "No one would _ever_ consider telling him, but he's got a couple of fan clubs." 

"That's beside the point, Sora," Koushirou stated. 

Sora sighed. "Well, might as well get it over with... C'mon Taichi, we'll sit with him." 

Sora and Koushirou led the way to Yamato, arguing about something in whispers that Taichi couldn't quite make out. Their argument was hushed by their arrival at Yamato's table. 

"Hi Mattie!" Sora said cheerfully as she say down next to the blonde. Yamato glared at her but didn't say anything. Koushirou mumbled a greeting as he sat down across from Sora, and Taichi cheerfully slid into the seat across from Yamato, determined to make a good impression on the blonde boy. It was, after all, Good Impression Day. Month. Something like that. Taichi couldn't quite remember now as he made note of Yamato's deep blue eye color. He'd never seen eyes like that. Of course, he'd also never seen a glare as cold and sharp as the one that the blonde was directing at Sora. 

"This is Taichi," Sora said, gesturing towards the brunette. "He's new." 

Yamato shifted his glare to rest on Taichi, making it colder in the process. Taichi grinned uncertainly, repressing the urge to run away. The blonde looked like he wouldn't mind killing someone... 

"Oh stop it, Yamato," Sora ordered. "You need to stop doing this to _everyone_. This is why you don't have any friends." 

Yamato glanced at her. "I don't _want_ friends," he growled, his voice so quiet that Taichi could barely hear it. He turned his attention to his food, choosing to ignore the others. 

Taichi watched Yamato eat for a moment before he too began to eat. Yamato was apparently a fast eater, as he picked up his empty tray and stormed away only minutes later. 

"Well, there you have it," Sora said. "The famous Ishida greeting. He's done that to just about everyone in the school to get them to leave him alone. It's a good thing we caught him in a good mood; the Ishida greeting has gotten ugly before." 

"He's always like that? To everyone?" Taichi asked as he watched the blonde leave the cafeteria. "Wait a minute, that was him in a _good_ mood?" 

"Yes, he must have been in a good mood, or at least not an unpleasant one," Koushirou commented. "The Ishida greeting would have been much worse if we had come at a bad time. As for how he treats people... Yamato has two categories in which he places those he meets: people he hates and people he doesn't care about. As long as you don't bother him, you'll remain in the safer of the two categories. People that don't immediately give up on befriending him have a history of walking away with a bloody nose or broken arm." 

"Where do you two stand with him, then?" asked Taichi, thinking about how Matt had reacted to the two redheads. "I didn't see him sending any punches your way, and I doubt he enjoys being called 'Mattie,' given the glare he gave you, Sora." 

"We're... kind of an exception," Sora said, poking at her food. "Koushirou has known Yamato since they were little, and I've known him since before he completely shut people out. I doubt he considers me to be a friend, but he... tolerates me. He and Koushirou actually do each other favors from time to time; Kou-chan's probably the closest thing he has to a friend." 

"I see..." Taichi said, trailing off as a plan started forming in his mind. He knew that everything about the plan could go horribly wrong, but... Well, he always _did_ like a challenge. 

--

Yamato scowled at his locker as he dialed his lock combination. He'd finally been in a good mood, and then Sora had come by with that new kid--Tights, or whatever. 

Tights. What a stupid name... he must have heard it wrong. Not that the kid's name really mattered or anything. 

So Sora and Koushirou had brought what's-his-name and ruined his mood. At least what's-his-name hadn't said anything; that was definitely a redeeming factor. So redeeming, in fact, that Yamato had resisted the urge to punch the kid to make it clear he didn't want people coming around him. The kid was new, Sora had said. He obviously needed to know the rule about not coming near Yamato. 

Sora should have known better. Koushirou should have stopped her. There were plenty of ways for the kid to learn that Yamato was a lone wolf without attempting to meet him. He didn't understand why people continued to try to talk to him, to be around him, to be his friend. 

"Friend." He hated the word. It meant appearances and empty promises and shallow happiness. "Friends" were something he had no use for. He'd just be left behind in the end, so it was better to never create any bonds... 

Yamato pushed aside a notebook that was resting on an inside wall of his locker. Carefully, he pulled out a worn-out picture. "Only a few more hours left until I can go home. Help me get through the rest of the day, Takeru," he whispered, looking at the young blonde child in the photograph. It had been nearly five years since he'd last seen his little brother. Five long years since the photograph had been taken and his mom had moved away from Odaiba and taken Takeru with her. Yamato knew that she'd moved away because of him, because he'd been secretly meeting with Takeru after their parents' divorce. And that damned show... _Digimon_... That was why she found out. If that show hadn't existed, he wouldn't have been separated from his brother for good. 

As other students began to fill the hall after the bell rang, Yamato tucked the photograph back into its place in his locker and grabbed the books he needed. He only had to bear a few more hours of tapping a rhythm against his desk and looking out the window... And then he would be free from school until Monday. 

In his next class, he was pleased to find that there was no one who would bother him. No Sora, no Koushirou, no what's-his-name. The only people in the room were ones who knew to leave him alone. 

Yamato would have smiled, but he had long ago forgotten how. 

--

**Author's notes again:** Yay, got to introduce some of why Yama hates _Digimon_ so much. I'm going to try to make the chapters a little longer, but I liked where this one ended so I left it like that. Anyway, leave a comment, and I'll see ya' next chapter!


	3. Third Pieces: A Day in my Life

**Disclaimer:** In some weird twist of fate, I recently acquired the rights to Digimon. I'm currently convincing the animators to redo seasons 1 and 2 to make Taito an official pairing... **Yeah right.** I don't own Digimon, the characters, etc, etc. 

**Author's notes:**  
-First off, a huge **THANK YOU** to everyone who reviewed!  
-While I'm not using the Japanese school system (for example, I don't have the kids doing the half day on Saturday thing), I'm trying to keep a few elements. Some schools in Japan don't allow their students to have jobs.  
-Slight clarification, because I don't think I've stated it well enough in the story yet: for this story, Digimon was an animated show, and the characters were based off winners of a contest that the producers had held. Although some of the winners also voiced their characters, they never neccessarily met each other. The not-having-met thing is possible only because they weren't ever actual actors/actresses on a set where meeting each other would be required.  
-As a reminder, I'm using the American names when referring to the TV show of Digimon, and the Japanese names when referring to the "real people."  
-This's almost definately gonna have some Taito fluff... eventually. If you don't like male/male pairings, don't read it! Simple, ne?

--

**The Third Pieces: A Day in my Life**

Yamato stood in the darkness. He could not see anything, not even his own hands when he held them in front of his face. He slowly turned around, already knowing what he'd find.

Next to his pitch-black world was a world of dazzling white. The two worlds were separated by a clear barrier that allowed nothing from either world to pass into the other; not even the light from the white world spilled out into the dark one.

A single person stood in the white world. The boy was young, only about eight or nine years old. He was clothed in white, and a miniature pair of white wings floated just behind his back. The light of the white world glinted off his golden hair.

Yamato walked to the invisible boundary and sat on the floor, never taking his eyes off the boy.

"Takeru," Yamato said softly. "How are you doing? I'm doing okay, but it's kinda hard without dad around. Did you know that it's almost been a year since he died? Did mom even tell you about it? I bet she didn't say anything. She doesn't want you to know about dad or me."

Yamato reached out towards the white world, but the barrier stopped his hand from passing through. Once again, he wasn't allowed to be with his brother...

"I want to see you again, Takeru. I bet you've grown a lot, haven't you? You're probably tall now... maybe you're strong, too. Are you shy? Are you popular? What do you do in your spare time? Do you... ever think about me?"

Yamato abandoned his questions that would forever go unanswered and instead watched Takeru silently. The black and white worlds slowly melted away, transforming themselves into Yamato's bedroom as he awoke from the dream. He closed his eyes, hoping to see Takeru again, but he was forcibly pulled back to reality when his alarm went off.

--

"Taichi! Telephone!" Hikari called, poking her head into their shared room.

Taichi cracked open his eyes and squinted at the clock: 9:38am. Did he really want to get out of bed yet for a mere phone call?

"Who is it?" Taichi asked, deciding to put off his decision.

"Some girl," Hikari responded.

Taichi sat up. The only girl who knew his phone number was Sora, and talking to Sora would probably be worth getting out of bed. "Okay. Thanks Hika," he said, pulling himself out of bed and heading to the door.

Hikari handed him the cordless phone she held and headed towards the living room.

"Hello?"

"Tai! It's Sora. I figured I'd give you a call since you gave me your number and all... I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No, no, you're fine. What's up?"

"Not much really. I was just wondering if you wanted a tour of our town, since you're new around here..."

"That sounds great, Sora! Mind if my sister comes, too?"

"I'd be mad if you _didn't_ bring her, Tai! It's been so long since I'd last seen you two; I can't even imagine what Hikari's like now!"

Taichi grinned. "Anyway, where should we meet? I don't really know too many places around here..."

"Let's meet at school, right in front of the gate. At, say... ten o'clock?"

"Sounds great. See you then."

"Bye!"

"Later Sora."

Taichi hung up and looked at the phone for a moment before changing clothes quickly and heading to the living room to talk to his sister. Hikari was on the couch, watching television. "Hika, you remember Takenouchi Sora, don't you?"

"Yeah, I remember her. Why?"

"We're meeting up with her, that's why."

Hikari stared at her brother in disbelief. "No way! Sora's here? You're kidding, right?"

Taichi grinned. "Nope, not kidding. C'mon; I told her we'd meet her at ten."

"At _ten_? I don't have any time to get ready!" the girl lamented, looking at the clock.

Taichi chuckled. "Five minutes, Hika, and then we're out the door. I suggest you hurry." Hikari quickly disappeared into their room, appearing a couple minutes later with a grin plastered on her face. "Happy?" Taichi queried.

"Of course! I haven't seen Sora in what, five years? I can't _wait_ to see her again!" Hikari said as they headed out. "How'd you know she was here in Odaiba?"

"I'm in some classes with her at my new school."

Hikari started at her brother, a look of mock indignity on her face. "Yagami Taichi, you have classes with Takenouchi Sora and you didn't even bother to tell your little sister? For shame!"

"All right, all right, I get it!" Taichi laughed. "So, what should Yagami Taichi do to make it up to his little sister?"

Hikari considered. "Hmm. First Yagami Taichi should treat his little sister to lunch, and later to ice cream. That should at least _start_ to compensate for the grievous injury caused by his withholding of information..." she said, trying hard not to giggle.

"Ah, very well. I suppose Yagami Taichi must do as his sister commands, lest he get into even deeper trouble," Taichi responded as they reached the school. "Ah, we're here."

"SORA!"

Hikari was gone in a heartbeat, running towards the redheaded girl that stood near the school's gate. "Hikari!" Sora cried cheerfully. "Oh wow, you've really grown! Just look at you! I bet Taichi's got his hands full keeping the boys away from his precious little sister."

"You've got that right," Taichi said as he joined the two girls. "There was this one pest I could never quite get rid of, though... He and Hika stuck together like glue until he moved away. And he _still_ calls her every day."

Hikari stuck her tongue out at her brother playfully. "You know you approve of him, Tai. You would've driven him off if you hadn't."

"Whatever you say, Hika. So anyway, where to?"

Sora grinned and rubbed the palms of her hands together. "Hope you wore your walking shoes, 'cause I've got a lot planned..."

--

Sora's grand tour of Odaiba proceeded at a dizzying rate until they reached the western shopping district. There, Sora and Hikari proceeded to enter every store... or at least, Taichi felt like it was every store. He was quite thankful when the girls decided that it was time for lunch. After lunch, however, it was back to shopping.

When Sora and Hikari were ogling over more "cute things," as the girls called them, that one store was selling, Taichi spotted a music store across the street. The small shop was easy to miss; it was jammed between two brightly decorated clothing stores, and its sign that declared it to be called "Song for You" was old and faded. A black and white sign in the store's single window stated that it sold CDs, sheet music, and some instruments and equipment.

Taichi decided that checking out the music shop would probably be much more interesting than standing around while he waited for the girls to finish window shopping, so he told Hikari where he was going and left the store to cross the street. When he entered the music shop and saw the clerk who had absentmindedly welcomed him, there was no doubt left in his mind that coming into the store had indeed been a good idea.

"Hello Yamato!"

The blonde clerk looked up slowly. For a brief second, Taichi could see surprise showing in Yamato's deep blue eyes before an expressionless mask clicked into place.

"Why the hell are _you_ here?"

--

He should have never gotten out of bed this morning. He should have called in sick. He should have gone out to lunch. He should have been doing _anything_ other than standing behind the counter of the store where he worked, staring at the grinning brunette who had probably never even heard of a hairbrush.

Well, maybe the boy _had_ heard of a hairbrush, though it was probably defined in his vocabulary as "the thing that gets eaten by my hair-monster."

"Why the hell are _you_ here?" Yamato asked icily, barely realizing he'd spoken. He had chosen this area to work at because it was far away from his school, so he hadn't expected to _ever_ see someone who recognized him here.

The brunette seemed unfazed by Yamato's tone. "Sora and my sister are shopping," he responded cheerfully. "This store looked a lot more interesting that the ones they were looking at, so I came to check it out. Do you work here?"

Ah, Sora. This kid must be what's-his-name, then. Yesterday, he hadn't minded what's-his-name because he had been blessedly silent, but today the boy was trying to have a conversation with him. Yamato narrowed his eyes.

The other boy laughed a little. "I guess that was a stupid question, huh? Oh, Sora introduced us yesterday, but in case you forgot my name, I'm Taichi. Yagami Taichi."

Yamato looked back down at the list of new inventory he had in front of him. If he ignored the other boy, he'd go away, just like all the others had.

Instead, Taichi walked to the counter. "This place is pretty far away from school," the brunette commented. "Why're you working way out here?"

"So that I won't run into people like you," Yamato spat out before he could stop himself. So much for ignoring the brunette.

"That makes sense," Taichi said. "Our school doesn't allow work, so it'd be trouble if someone found out that you had a job, wouldn't it? Oh, but don't worry; I won't tell anyone about it."

Yamato started at the brunette in disbelief. Did he not get it? Did he not understand that Yamato simply wanted to be left alone?

"Ishida! Come give Suzuki a hand with this!" Yamato's boss shouted from the back of the store. Yamato quickly retreated from the brunette, silently thanking his boss for the interruption.

Yamato's remaining hour of work passed quickly and without incident. If he overlooked the visit from bush-boy, the day had gone rather well. Yamato hummed softly as he headed to the bus stop, but he fell silent when he saw a chocolate-colored blob of hair protruding from within the crowd at the stop. He started to turn around and go to a different bus stop, but it was too late. He'd already been spotted.

"Hey, Yamato!" the bushy-haired boy called. "I'm glad you're here! Sora and Hikari kinda left me behind, and I don't know how to get back home. You're off from work now, right? Think you can help me out?"

"No," Yamato replied tersely.

"Aw, c'mon, pleeeeaaaase?" Taichi pleaded. "Just as far as school; I can make it back home from there."

Yamato silently commanded himself to ignore the other boy.

"Oh, the bus!"

Yamato glanced at the number of the approaching bus. "Wrong one. The number 12 bus goes to school."

Taichi grinned. "Number 12? Thanks! I didn't know the name of the stop, so I couldn't find which number it was."

Yamato looked away, angry that he'd accidentally helped the brunette. The boy seemed to have a knack for getting him to talk, and Yamato didn't like that.

Eventually, their bus came, and Yamato got on silently. The brunette was sticking to him like glue, talking about soccer and television and all sorts of things that Yamato didn't care about.

They both got off the bus at the stop closest to their school, and Taichi bid Yamato goodbye, promising to see him at school on Monday. To Yamato, it sounded more like a threat.

--

"I'm back!" Taichi called as he entered the Yagami apartment. Hikari and Sora appeared quickly, questioning looks on their faces.

"What was that all about before?" Hikari asked. "Why'd you tell us to go home ahead of you?"

Taichi smiled at his sister. "I ran into someone I wanted to talk to."

"Oh? Who?"

"Ishida Yamato."

Sora caught her breath. "Tell me it wasn't him," she said. "_Please_ tell me that you didn't talk to him."

Taichi's smiled widened into a grin. "It was him, and yes, I _did_ talk to him. And I returned perfectly unscathed, as you can see. He helped me find my way home. Because, seeing as how I'd been left behind, I was lost in an unfamiliar place..."

Sora's eyes narrowed. "Taichi, I _told_ you which bus to take back."

"_I_ know that," Taichi said, his eyes twinkling mischievously, "but Yamato doesn't."

"You want to be his friend?"

Taichi nodded, his expression turning somber. "Yes. He may have said that he doesn't want friends, but I think he needs them, or at least one. I don't care if I'm that one or not, but... It hurts to see people who are like... like Yamato."

Sora shifted uncomfortably. "Fine. Just don't get hurt, okay? I don't want to visit you at the hospital again."

"Don't worry; I'll be fine!" Taichi said, grinning again and lightening the mood. "Hey, Sora, wanna stick around and watch a movie with us? Mom bought a few new ones right before we moved here."

"Sure," Sora said as she and Hikari followed Taichi into the living room. Taichi pulled out some DVDs and handed them to the girls.

"Pick one of those. I'll be right back," said Taichi before he headed to his room. He pulled a thin book out of his desk drawer and flipped it open. Browsing the contents of the list on the page, he made a check mark next to the topmost item on the list. He smiled to himself.

"That took less time than I'd expected. Step one, complete."

--

**Author's notes again:** This chapter ended up a little bit longer than the previous ones; yay! I'm still working on making them longer. Anyway, leave a comment, and I'll see ya' next chapter!


	4. Fourth Pieces: Tactics

**Disclaimer:** In some weird twist of fate, I recently acquired the rights to Digimon. I'm currently convincing the animators to redo seasons 1 and 2 to make Taito an official pairing... _Yeah right._ I don't own Digimon, the characters, etc, etc. 

**Author's notes:**  
-First off, a huge **THANK YOU** to everyone who reviewed! I may start answering reviews starting next chapter, but I'm not sure yet.  
-This chapter took forever to write, as I encountered author's block twice while writing it. Hopefully things will go more smoothly from now on.  
-I've decided that the digimon themselves will make an appearance, despite the fact that they only exist as anime characters in this world. They may show up as early as next chapter, depending on if I think the characters are ready for it.  
-As a reminder, I'm using the American names when referring to the TV show of Digimon, and the Japanese names when referring to the "real people."  
-This's almost definately gonna have some Taito fluff... eventually. If you don't like male/male pairings, don't read it! Simple, ne?

--

**The Fourth Pieces: Tactics**

Yamato opened his locker and pulled out the books he needed to take home. He wanted to look at his picture of Takeru, but he couldn't. Not with _him_ there.

The brunette next to him was talking non-stop. Yamato suspected that Taichi was actually talking to him, but he definitely wasn't going to listen. He had firmly decided that ignoring the brunette would get across the message that he wanted to be left alone.

Taichi, however, must have missed that message. He had been sticking to Yamato for nearly two weeks now. He would ask questions on occasion, but Yamato's lack of response never seemed to faze him; he would keep talking without missing with a beat. Taichi did an excellent job of being both sides of the conversation.

Double-checking the books he'd gotten, Yamato shut his locker and walked towards the end of the hall, Taichi following him. Yamato couldn't figure out why Taichi followed him around like a stray puppy; he couldn't remember ever feeding him. Yamato smiled slightly, amused by the thought.

"Wow, you're smiling, Yamato!"

The small half-smile instantly disappeared from Yamato's face when he heard Taichi's words. He looked away.

"You know, you should try smiling more," Taichi said, sounding disappointed that the smile was gone.

Yamato thought of a dozen scathing remarks he could throw at the brunette, but he stuck to his code of silence. Taichi wasn't going to hear a single word come out of his mouth.

"Hmm… I bet you think that you don't have any reason to smile!" Taichi said as he stopped walking. "But even if that's the case, you can find stuff to smile about, ya' know."

_Ignore him, ignore him, ignore him, ignore him_, Yamato chanted silently. He knew that the other boy had stopped walking earlier, but he didn't care to see if the boy had realized he was being left behind. He hoped the boy was clueless enough not to notice.

Luck wasn't with him, however. He had only gotten a few yards away from the other boy before he heard him shout, "Hey, Yamato, wait up!"

Yamato didn't wait. Rather, he quickened his pace.

Luck wasn't with Taichi, either. The bushy-haired boy had caught up with Yamato and patted him on the back. Yamato whirled around and slugged him squarely in the nose.

"**DON'T TOUCH ME!**"

The fact that the other students in the hall had stopped moving barely registered with Yamato as he directed one of his best death-glares at Taichi. He had hoped that it wouldn't have had to come to this on school grounds, but Taichi apparently needed to learn to back off. Taichi had been unpredictable thus far, but Yamato knew what he would do now.

Taichi lay on the ground for a moment, stunned, just as Yamato expected.

Taichi sat up, just as Yamato expected. He touched his nose gingerly and winced.

Taichi slowly stood up, just as Yamato expected.

Taichi looked at him, just as Yamato expected.

However, Yamato hadn't expected Taichi to grin and look back at him defiantly. Yamato's glare wavered for a split-second in surprise, and Taichi threw a punch of his own. Seconds later, a full-fledged fistfight between the two had broken out in the middle of the hallway.

Yamato _definitely_ hadn't expected that.

--

Sora pounded on the door of the Yagami apartment. "Taichi! Taichi, you idiot, open the door!"

The door opened a moment later, and Hikari quietly invited Sora inside.

"Where's the idiot?" Sora asked.

"He collapsed on the couch the moment he got back," Hikari responded, pointing toward the living room.

Sora stormed towards the couch. Upon seeing the brown-haired boy, she shouted, "Taichi, you idiot, you promised me you wouldn't get hurt!"

Taichi lifted the icepack that was resting over his eyes in order to look at Sora. "I'm not in the hospital, am I? And for your information, I didn't start that fight." Taichi dropped the icepack back down and grinned. "I did, however, finish it."

"Taichi," Sora growled, her voice containing a dangerous tone.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry, okay? It won't happen again."

"Better. However, I absolutely forbid you from approaching Yamato tomorrow. He'll need some time to cool off."

Taichi chuckled and replied, "No problem there. I'm not going to school tomorrow."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I don't _think_ anything's broken, but mom's taking me to get some x-rays tomorrow, just in case. The school called her after the fight, and she was furious. It's a good thing that—" Taichi suddenly stopped talking, considering something. He lifted the icepack from his eyes again. "Sora, Yamato and I were taken to the headmaster's office after that fight, and that's when they said they'd call my parents. They never said they'd call Yamato's parents, though. Why?"

Sora looked away, trying to avoid Taichi's gaze. It wasn't her place to tell Taichi about Yamato's family. "Don't know. Maybe they figured Mattie already knew they'd call?"

Taichi seemed to accept the possibility, and he returned the icepack to its place. "Well anyway, it's a good thing that they let me off with just a warning."

Sora looked at Taichi, unsure what to say. After several minutes passed in silence, she finally found words. "Taichi, be careful," she said. "It may not be my place to say this, but Yamato _needs_ a friend. I haven't known him for as long as Kou-chan has, but I've known him long enough to realize that he pushes people away to make sure he stays alone. But if you cause him any more heartbreak than he's already had, I'll never forgive you."

Taichi was silent. Sora decided that it would be best if she left, so she turned to walk to the door. Once she had reached it, she heard Taichi whisper, "I already know that, Sora. I won't hurt him."

Sora smiled slightly at Taichi before she slipped out the door.

--

Something was wrong this week.

The first day, Yamato had felt that something wasn't normal.

The second day, Yamato had ascertained that something was definitely different.

The third day, Yamato couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was missing.

By the fourth day, Yamato was horrified when he realized why the week felt so wrong: Taichi wasn't there.

He'd denied it at first. In truth, he hadn't even been the one to notice that Taichi was missing. Koushirou and Sora had joined him at lunch on Friday, and Koushirou had made an off-hand comment about Taichi being absent every day except Monday. It was then that Yamato had first noticed that what had felt so wrong was the silence. There was no Taichi around him, jabbering about random and ultimately useless topics.

He had known instantly that Taichi's absence was _exactly_ why he was so tense, and that thought made him extremely uncomfortable. He refused to let himself admit that he had grown used to the brunette's presence.

Now in his last class of the week, Yamato decided that things would be going back to normal. Taichi was gone because he was absent, but he must have also finally realized that Yamato wanted to be left alone. Taichi would now stay away from Yamato, and all would be right with the world again.

_Not that anything was right in the first place_, a small voice in Yamato's head whispered to him. Yamato commanded the voice to be silent, and he attempted to concentrate on what the teacher was saying.

Once the bell rang, Yamato went to his locker to get the books he needed over the weekend. He stuffed the books into his backpack and froze once he slammed the locker shut. He'd forgotten to look at the picture. _All week_ he'd forgotten. Before Taichi started hanging around him, he always at Takeru's picture whenever he was at his locker. Taichi was finally gone, so why weren't things back to normal? He quickly opened the locker again and grabbed the picture from its place.

"I'm sorry, Takeru!" he said softly to the photograph. "I didn't forget about you, I swear!"

He stared at the photograph for a moment and slipped it into his backpack. It was the only picture of Takeru he had. When his mother had left, she'd taken all the photographs with her, so this was the only photo that remained. Koushirou had taken it for them, right before they'd been chosen for the _Digimon_ characters. Right before Takeru had been taken away from him a second time.

His father had never known about the picture, not that he would have cared if he had known. Yamato had always kept it with him at school, and it had gotten quite worn out over the years. Now was as good a time as any to take it back home. Maybe he'd get a frame for it and keep it in his room…

His thoughts began to wander as he started to leave the school. He stopped when he heard someone behind him ask, "Are you okay, Mattie?"

Sora. He didn't recognize her voice so much as he'd recognized the name he'd been called. Sora was the only one who called him that. Sora was the only one who could get away with calling him that.

"I'm fine," he said curtly, not bothering to look at her.

"Are you still mad at Taichi?" Sora asked. "I know he can be a real idiot, and I already talked to him about it, and—"

Yamato cut her off, "Mind your own business." He turned slightly in order to see her over his shoulder.

"Ah… Sorry…" she said, looking at the ground.

"Where does Taichi live?"

Yamato tensed when he heard the question, and completely froze when he'd realized he'd been the one to ask it. Sora looked up at him in surprise.

"You… want to know where Taichi lives?"

_No!_ Yamato's mind screamed. _Bloody hell, no! I do NOT want to know where that bushy-haired moron lives! I did NOT ask that!_

The response to come out his mouth, however, was affirmative.

Sora ripped a piece of paper out of her notebook and scribbled down the name of Taichi's apartment complex and his apartment number. She held it out to him. "Here. Please don't go there looking for a fight."

Yamato shakily accepted the paper and glanced at the information written on it. "I just want to make sure he'll leave me alone once he comes back to school," he said, talking to himself more than to Sora.

Sora pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips. "You ought to stop driving everyone away, Mattie. He wants to be your friend, you know."

"Don't tell me how to live my life," Yamato spat, shoving the paper in his pocket and storming out of the school. Soon afterward, he was standing outside of an apartment complex. Glancing at its sign, he realized it was Taichi's building. He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. Why had he come here? Why had he asked for Taichi's address?

"I'll just go in there, tell Taichi to buzz off, and go home," he muttered to himself. "Yeah, that's what I'll do."

Yamato slowly headed for Taichi's apartment, number 509. Every step of the way, he contemplated turning back, but he continued to tell himself that he was going to make sure things would be back to normal. He stopped in front of Taichi's door and hesitated for a long time before he finally knocked.

The door was quickly opened by a brown-haired girl who stared at him with crimson eyes.

"Uh… is this where Taichi lives?" Yamato questioned.

The girl blinked and continued to stare at him for a moment before she retreated from the door, allowing Yamato to come inside. "Taichi-niichan!" she called. "You've got a visitor!"

Taichi appeared a moment later. "_Yamato?_" he asked in surprise, starting at the blonde.

Yamato looked away. "Why haven't you been at school?" he asked, cursing himself after he'd said the words. He was supposed to tell Taichi to go away, not ask where he'd been!

"I only meant to miss Tuesday, but I caught a cold," Taichi said. He grinned mischievously. "Could it be that you actually _missed_ me, Yamato?"

"Hell no!" Yamato scoffed, unconsciously relaxing. "It was just so blissfully quiet and peaceful without you around that I wanted to know what I could attribute my good luck to. You ought to get sick more often."

"Oh, so you're in denial."

"Sorry, this is Japan, not Egypt," he replied, smirking.

Taichi snickered a bit. "That's a terrible joke, man."

Yamato tensed. This was _not_ what he'd come here to do. Why the hell was he joking around with the pest?

"Whatever," Yamato said, wiping the smirk from his face and trying solidify his icy mask. "Do me a favor and leave me alone when you decide to come back to school, okay?"

Yamato left the apartment quickly once he'd finished his task. He had decided: he didn't care how many fights it might take, he had to drive Taichi away. Taichi was dangerous.

--

"Who was that?" Hikari asked once Taichi's visitor had left. She had watched the exchange between the two boys from the kitchen, curious about the stranger.

"Ishida Yamato," Taichi said, sitting down at the table. "Goes to my school."

"Ah," Hikari replied, making the connection. "He's the one you fought with."

"Yeah, he's the one. He's a bit… anti-social."

Hikari slid into a chair opposite her brother. "He looks like Takeru."

Taichi cocked his head to the side. "Really? I hadn't noticed. Huh." Taichi was silent, thinking about it for a moment. "Yeah, I guess he does look a bit like your boyfriend."

Hikari blushed a shade of crimson that matched her eyes. "H-He's not my boyfriend," she mumbled.

"Not your boyfriend _yet_," Taichi corrected.

Hikari fidgeted a bit and tried to think of a way to change the subject. She thought back on the conversation between Taichi and Yamato and realized something. "Why did you tell him you were sick?"

"Hmm? Perhaps because I have been?"

Hikari narrowed her eyes. "I know for a fact that you've been faking. Mom and dad have just been too busy to notice."

Taichi leaned back in his chair. "Oh? I guess I need to work on my acting if you can still tell when I'm faking," he said.

"You had a reason for pretending you were sick, didn't you? And it has something to do with Yamato."

Taichi grinned lopsidedly. "Tactics, my dear Hikari. You could say I was testing the waters, to see where I stand. And I must say, things are looking better than I expected. I hadn't even guessed that Yamato would come here to ask where I was."

"He _also_ told you to get lost, Taichi."

Taichi considered for a moment. "Truthfully, Hika, I think he's just scared. He's stubborn, and he's probably never met someone more stubborn than he is."

Hikari stood up and smiled mischievously. "Well, if you need anyone to help with your tactics, you can count on your little sister. I do _love_ a challenge."

"It must run in the family!" Taichi laughed. "And thanks, Hika. It's nice to know I have a reliable partner-in-crime for all this. If there's anything you can do to help, I'll be sure to let you know."

The ringing of the phone interrupted their conversation, and Taichi glanced at his watch. "It's Takeru," he declared. "Right on schedule. I swear, that boy calls you at the _exact_ same time, every single day."

Hikari stuck her tongue out at her brother and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi Hikari!" the voice on the other end answered happily. "It's me."

"Hey Takeru," she said happily. Taichi smirked at Hikari, who stuck her tongue out at him again. Taichi laughed and left the kitchen, flopping down on the couch and turning on the television. Hikari focused her attention on her conversation with Takeru.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you yesterday," Takeru said after several minutes of idle chitchat. "Mom's getting transferred again. It looks like we're probably going back to Fukuoka, but it hasn't been decided yet."

"Again? You move way too often. It's a shame my family's not in Fukuoka any more; we could see each other again."

"Yeah… It's been too long. We'll have to try to meet up this summer, or maybe over spring break."

Hikari smiled. "Yeah, that'd be great. How 'bout you come here? I know my parents wouldn't mind if you stayed with us for a few days."

"Great! It's decided, then. We just have to figure out when I should come, and I gotta get mom to approve. She… doesn't really like Odaiba much."

"Really? Why?"

Takeru was silent for a minute before responding, "Don't know. Forget I mentioned it."

Takeru was hiding something; Hikari knew he was. "Fine; I won't ask again," she said, deciding it was best not to pry. If Takeru thought she should know, he'd tell her.

She would wait until he was ready.

--

Yamato set the picture on his desk, turning it so that he could easily see it where he sat. In a move very unlike him, he'd actually purchased a piece of _Digimon_ merchandise: a silver picture frame with the Crest of Hope set into the top portion of the frame. Yamato disliked that the producers had chosen the Crest of Friendship for him, but he found that Takeru's crest was a perfect choice. Takeru was Yamato's hope.

Yamato rested his head on his arms and looked at the picture. "We'll meet again some day, Takeru," he said softly, yawning. "I promise."

Yamato's eyes fluttered closed, and he soon drifted to sleep.

--

**Closing notes:** Longest chapter thus far! I'm still working on making them longer. Leave a comment, and I'll see ya' next chapter!


	5. Fifth Pieces: Sunday

**Disclaimer:** In some weird twist of fate, I recently acquired the rights to Digimon. I'm currently convincing the animators to redo seasons 1 and 2 to make Taito an official pairing... _Yeah right._ I don't own Digimon, the characters, etc, etc. 

**Author's notes:**  
-First off, a huge **THANK YOU** to everyone who reviewed!  
-This chapter took a while because I kept scrapping parts of it, and it ended up taking a much different form than I'd originally meant it to. Next chapter may take a while because I'm not quite sure where to begin.  
-The digimon shall make an appearance... soon-ish.  
-As a reminder, I'm using the American names when referring to the TV show of Digimon, and the Japanese names when referring to the "real people."  
-This's almost definately gonna have some Taito fluff... eventually. If you don't like male/male pairings, don't read it! Simple, ne?

--

**The Fifth Pieces: Sunday**

Takeru hesitated before knocking on the door of his mother's study. He didn't like bothering her while she was busy, but he was too excited to wait any longer. He'd finally asked Hikari about meeting up, and she'd suggested that he come to Odaiba. Not only would he be able to see Hikari again, but there was also the possibility of finding his brother…

"Come in," his mother's voice called after Takeru had finally knocked. Takeru opened the door and peeked inside.

"Um, mom? I was wondering if I could visit Hikari over spring break…"

His mother didn't even look up from her work. "That's fine, honey."

"Great! Thanks, mom!" Takeru said happily, starting to leave.

His mother's voice stopped him. "You'd mentioned she'd moved; where does she live now?"

"…Odaiba," he answered fearfully, clinging to the small hope that she still wouldn't mind.

Takeru couldn't see his mother's face, but he could see the way she'd stopped moving when he said the name. She slowly put down the piece of paper she'd been reading and turned to face him, staring at him gravely. "You can't go," she said.

Takeru was heartbroken, and it showed in his face. "But mom, I haven't seen Hikari in years! You've always said she was a nice girl, and she said that her parents would be happy to have me stay, and—"

"You can't go. And that's final, Takeru," she said, cutting him off. The look she was directing told him not to question her any longer.

"Yes ma'am," he muttered, shutting the door. He rested his back against the door and slowly slid to the floor. He hugged his legs, trying to keep back the tears that threatened to come.

--

Yamato hummed softly as he locked the music shop for the day. The owner was out of town until Sunday, and Yamato had been entrusted with the task of opening and closing the store over the weekend. His hours lasted longer than usual because of it, but Yamato didn't mind; the day had been extremely peaceful. Only a few customers had come, so he'd decided to spend a little time playing guitar the owner let employees use during breaks and slow hours. It had been a long time since he'd lasted played the guitar… the feel of the strings under his fingers had been wonderful. As he turned the key in the final lock, Yamato toyed with the idea of saving his earnings to buy a guitar of his own. The only instrument he owned was a beat-up little harmonica that he'd had for as long as he could remember.

Yamato shoved the store keys in his pocket and headed for the bus stop, wondering how long it had been since he'd last touched the harmonica. He used to play it for Takeru, and he'd continued to play it frequently even after his brother had been taken away. The last time he could remember playing it was about a year ago…

Ah. That was it.

The last time he'd played had been the day of his father's funeral. After the funeral, after his mother had left without even offering to let Yamato move in with her and Takeru, he had buried the harmonica in the bottom of a drawer. He hadn't touched it since.

Yamato reached the bus stop. He continued to think, wondering about the location of his CD player. He hadn't used that in the year since his father's death, either. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he'd just about given up music entirely after his father had died. He would hear it in the store, and he would occasionally demonstrate instruments for customers, but outside of work, he'd barely touched it.

And now, here he was, wondering about his harmonica and CD player, and entertaining thoughts of buying a guitar. He wondered what had caused him to start thinking about music again.

"Nice tune," he heard someone next to him say. "Yours?"

Yamato realized the person was talking to him the same moment he realized he was still humming. He glanced at the person—a girl a few years younger than him, with crimson eyes that he couldn't help but think looked familiar. He blushed lightly. "Yeah," he said quietly. "Made it up as I went along, you know?"

"It was very pretty," the girl said. "Sounded a little happy, a little sad, a little hopeful. Well, that's what I thought, at least. I really don't know much about music."

"I don't even remember what it sounded like now, but you're probably right about it," Yamato said casually. He glanced at her again. He _knew_ he'd seen her before, but where?

The girl giggled. "My name's Hikari," she introduced. Was she from school? No, she looked a little too young, and she didn't seem to recognize him…

"Yamato," he replied, nodding at her. Maybe she'd been a customer at the store? She couldn't have been a frequent customer, though…

"So, do you play anything, Yamato? Any instruments, I mean. I can't think all you do is hum."

"A bit. Today's the first day I've played in a long time, though."

_It's also the first day I've had a conversation with a stranger in a long time. A familiar-looking stranger, but a stranger nonetheless_, Yamato added silently. He wondered if perhaps he was getting sick. That would account for all his unusual behavior lately, wouldn't it?

A bus chose that moment to arrive. Hikari waved a little and smiled. "Well, this is my bus. Good luck to you, Yamato."

"Thanks," he said as she slipped onto the bus. As he watched the vehicle pull away, he smiled faintly and began to hum.

--

"You're back rather late," Taichi remarked as his sister entered the Yagami apartment. While it was still early in the evening, it was unusual for Hikari to be out at this time of day unless she was with friends.

"I had something to do," she commented, joining her brother on the couch. She smiled when she noticed he'd been watching _Digimon_ reruns. "Something for my dearest older brother."

"Uh-oh," Taichi said, a goofy grin spreading across his face. "What do you want this time?"

"I don't want anything!" Hikari defended, hitting Taichi's arm lightly. "I was just a bit intrigued."

"Aaaand…?"

"And I saw your friend. Yamato."

The smile disappeared from his face, replaced by a serious look. "What did you do?"

"Nothing. I just talked to him."

"Did he respond?"

"Of course. Well, eventually, at least. I tried talking to him two or three times before he finally heard me. He was really tuning out everything."

"Wait, he _actually_ responded to you?"

"Yes."

"As in you had a conversation with him?"

"Yes."

"As in you _actually_ had an honest-to-goodness two-person conversation?"

"Yes."

"As in you _actually_ got Yamato to _talk to you_?"

"Yes already! I said things, he said things, I said things, et cetera. It didn't last long, but yes, it was a real conversation."

Taichi leaned back, digging his fingers into his hair. "Oh man, what am I doing wrong? The only conversations I've really had with him involve him telling me to go away." He sat up suddenly, staring at Hikari. "Your conversation didn't involving him telling you to get lost, did it?"

"No, it didn't," Hikari responded. "We talked about music; he plays a bit. I don't think he remembered me from yesterday, or I doubt he would have said anything to me. It's like he's got something against you."

Taichi groaned. "I knew it. It's true, isn't it? Yamato hates me."

"I don't think he hates you," Hikari said, standing up.

"Give me a break, Hika. Seems I'm the only one he's trying to get rid of, since he actually talked to a stranger. That stranger would be you, by the way."

"Okay, have it your way. Yamato hates you." She stuck her tongue out at her brother, who adopted a look that spoke of both mock-indignation and heartbreak. The phone interrupted the moment, and Taichi glanced at his watch.

"Takeru time," he announced, picking up the remote and changing the channel.

Hikari practically pounced on the phone, eager to learn whether or not Takeru could come visit.

"Hello?"

"Hey. It's me," Takeru's said. From his voice, Hikari could tell that something was wrong; his normal cheerfulness was completely missing.

"Takeru? What's wrong?"

Takeru sighed. "Mom won't let me come visit."

"What? Why not?"

"I told you yesterday: she doesn't like Odaiba."

"Oh…"

They both fell silent. Finally, Takeru spoke again, "We used to live there."

"In Odaiba?"

"Yeah. We were there before we moved to Fukuoka."

"I see. Bad memories?"

"Something like that," Takeru said curtly. Hikari could tell he didn't want to say more about the subject.

"Well, since your mom won't let you come here, would she have any problems if I came there?"

"That'd probably be fine!" Takeru said, cheerfulness returning to his voice. "Hang on, I want to ask her right now."

"Okay," Hikari said, smiling as she heard him set down the phone and run towards wherever his mom was. She glanced at her brother, who had gotten absorbed by a movie.

"She said it's fine!" Takeru exclaimed gleefully upon his return to the phone. "But because of various things—mom's work, and her transfer, mainly—we're gonna be pretty busy for a while, and I know it's short notice, but do you think your parents would mind if you came over for the rest of this weekend? We could have you back by tomorrow night, or early Monday morning."

Hikari felt Takeru's excitement spreading to her. "Really? My parents are out of town right now—dad had a business meeting, and mom wanted to go with him—but I can call and ask! Hang on; I'll call them and call you right back, okay?"

"Great! Talk to you in a bit!"

Hikari hung up and quickly dialed the number of the place her parents were staying. A few minutes later, she'd gotten their permission, as well as a means of funding the tickets she'd need. She called Takeru back, shared the news, and five minutes later, had finished packing for the trip.

"I'm going to Takeru's for the rest of the weekend," she told her brother as she headed to the door. "See you later!"

Taichi hadn't responded, so Hikari marched over to the couch and poked him. "I'm going now," she stated.

"What? Oh, bye," he said absently, never taking his eyes off the movie that was playing. Hikari sighed and shook her head before returning to the door.

As she left the apartment, she was grinning from ear to ear. Even though it was only going to be for a little more than a day, she couldn't wait to see Takeru again.

--

Saturday night, Taichi had been nervous.

Sunday morning, Taichi had been a good deal more than afraid.

It was now Sunday afternoon, and Taichi was downright panicked, and worried almost to the point of becoming physically ill.

Hikari was missing. She had gone somewhere last night, and hadn't returned.

Taichi called his parents first, but couldn't reach them. He then called every friend of Hikari's that lived in Odaiba, hoping to hear that she'd spent the night at one of their houses. After he hung up with the last of them and still hadn't learned of Hikari's whereabouts, he decided to search around town in an attempt to keep his mind from coming up with terrible things that may have happened to his little sister.

Hours passed with no sign of Hikari.

Taichi debated returning home. He was tired and hungry, but he didn't want to go home if Hikari wasn't there. He decided to call home; if she was there, he'd return, but if she wasn't, he'd keep looking.

Taichi looked around, trying to find a payphone. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the beat-up sign of the store where Yamato worked. He hadn't noticed that he'd come to that part of town, and became somewhat depressed as he realized he'd covered more ground than he'd thought. The list of places Hikari might be was dwindling.

In his plan for becoming Yamato's friend, it was too early to approach him again. Hikari came first, however, and in his previous visits to the store, he'd distinctly remembered seeing a phone there. He just hoped that he would be allowed to use it.

He hurried across the street to the stop. He knew from his previous visits that it closed early on the weekend, but he wasn't sure how close to its closing time it really was. In his panicked state, he'd forgotten his watch when he'd left, so he only had a guess as to the time. He breathed a small sigh of relief when the door swung open; the store hadn't closed yet.

Yamato was sitting at the counter, holding what seemed to be a guitar. Taichi couldn't tell if he looked surprised or had his normal indifferent expression; things were getting blurry, and little black dots were starting to cloud his vision further.

"Could… Could I use the phone…?" Taichi managed to ask, surprised at how difficult it was to speak and how breathy his voice sounded.

He felt himself start to fall, but he was unconscious before he hit the ground.

--

Yamato wished with all his might that Taichi had found some _other_ store to pass out in, but the fact still remained that Taichi had entered the music shop, asked to use the phone, and collapsed, leaving Yamato to figure out what to do with the unconscious boy.

At first, Yamato just dragged Taichi away from the door, hoping that the brunette would revive before it was time to close the shop for the day. When that didn't happen, Yamato made several attempts to wake the boy, but it was futile. Taichi was out like a light, and it seemed that he wouldn't wake any time soon. So, Yamato did the only thing he could think of.

He took Taichi home with him.

When he arrived at his apartment, Yamato dumped Taichi unceremoniously on the couch and forgot about the brunette until two hours later, when Taichi woke up. Yamato had just started preparing dinner when Taichi awoke.

"…Where am I?" Taichi's voice queried. Yamato jumped slightly and cut himself instead of the carrot he'd been slicing.

"Shit!" Yamato exclaimed, sucking on the wounded finger. He set down the knife and reached for the band-aids he kept in one of the kitchen cabinets.

Taichi sat up, poking his head above the top of the couch. From the small living room, Taichi had a clear view of the kitchen. "…Yamato?" he asked gingerly. Yamato glanced at Taichi as he put the band-aid on his finger.

"Don't look at me like that," Yamato said. "I'm not some monster that's gonna eat you." He pointed to the food on the counter. "This isn't meant to compliment a Taichi roast. Besides, I doubt you'd fit in the oven."

Taichi chuckled softly, and his stomach chose that moment to voice a louder opinion about the situation.

"Hungry?" Yamato asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah," Taichi replied sheepishly. "I haven't eaten at all today."

Yamato looked at Taichi in shock. "_You_ haven't eaten? Are you still sick or something? You always eat everything in sight at school!"

Taichi appeared surprised. "And here I thought you ignored me."

Yamato returned his attention to the carrot he'd been cutting. "Tch. It's impossible to ignore your eating habits. Believe me; I tried."

Taichi blushed a bit, looking down. "Sorry…"

"What the hell are you apologizing for?" Yamato asked. He paused, thinking. "If you want to apologize for something, it should be for passing out on me this afternoon. I had to drag you over here; you're heavier than you look."

Taichi fell silent as Yamato finished cutting the carrots. Suddenly, he asked, "Can I use your phone?"

"Yeah, sure. It's on the counter," Yamato said, using the knife he held to point to the phone. Taichi slowly moved to the counter and dialed a number. After a few minutes, he set the receiver back down and sighed, a sad and somewhat tortured look taking over his normally cheerful face.

Taichi cursed and ran his fingers through his mess of hair. Yamato set down his knife and wiped off his hands, turning towards Taichi. "Tell me what's wrong," he said, somewhat annoyed that Taichi hadn't volunteered to leave. "It's obvious you're not gonna willingly leave until you do."

Taichi stared at the counter in silence for several minutes. "…My sister is missing," he eventually said. "She went out last night, and… well, this morning, she still wasn't back. I've been looking for her all day."

"So that's why you haven't eaten?"

Taichi nodded hesitantly. "I didn't want to stop searching. I mean… what if…" he trailed off, squeezing his eyes shut. "What if something happened to her? She's my little sister; I'm supposed to protect her! And now she's gone, and I can't find her, and… My parents are out of town, and I haven't been able to reach them, so they don't know she's missing…"

Yamato walked to the refrigerator and pulled out more food.

"There's nothing you can do right now."

Taichi looked up at Yamato angrily, slamming his fist on the counter. "Don't say that! You don't understand—she's my _little sister_! I have to protect her!"

Yamato set the extra food on the counter and turned his back to Taichi, resuming his cooking. "You're wrong. I understand perfectly. But you can't look for her like this. You're tired and hungry, and you're going to make yourself sick."

"…I guess you're right," Taichi said reluctantly. "But…"

Yamato turned on the stove and put a frying pan on it, waiting for it to warm up. Taichi had fallen silent, simply watching Yamato cook. Yamato vaguely wondered what the brunette was thinking about. He imagined that he would be acting very similarly if Takeru had suddenly gone missing. It was bad enough not seeing Takeru even when he knew his brother was safe; he didn't want to think about what it would be like to not know. He had spent too many nights crying about Takeru being taken away, even after he'd decided that men shouldn't cry, even after he'd sworn that he wouldn't cry, until he ran out of tears.

Yamato decided that Taichi was taking his sister's absence rather well. He understood too perfectly what it was like to worry, and for that, he decided that he could be nice to Taichi, just this once. He knew the pain of being helpless.

Nearly half an hour of silence later, Yamato had finished cooking and had decoratively arranged two plates of food. He surveyed his work, pleased. It had been a long time since he last made food for someone other than himself. Yamato set the second plate in front of Taichi, who seemed to have become lost in thought.

"Eat," Yamato commanded, pulling Taichi out of his trace-like state.

Taichi looked down at the food. "…This is for me?"

"No, it's for your invisible friend," Yamato replied, smirking. "Of course it's for you. Do you see anyone else around here?"

"Thanks," he said, taking the utensils Yamato was holding out for him. He started to eat, his eyes widening slightly and a grin spreading across his face. "Wow, this is really good!"

Yamato glared. "Don't sound so surprised."

"Sorry! I just had no idea you could cook so well; you don't really seem like a cooking kind of guy."

Yamato pulled up a chair and sat down next to Taichi at the counter. "And you say this _after_ watching me cook."

Taichi chuckled. "Okay, so I kinda expected the food to taste bad," he admitted.

The rest of the meal passed in silence. Yamato started to clean up once they'd both finished eating, but Taichi insisted that he could clean the dishes in payment for the meal. Yamato remained at the counter, trying not to watch Taichi.

"Hey, Yamato?" Taichi asked as he began to dry the dishes. "Why are you acting differently today?"

Yamato decided to study the phone. "Special circumstances. I would've kicked you out a long time ago if your sister weren't missing. Consider it a favor from one older brother to another."

"Oh. Well, thank you."

"Don't mention it. Seriously. Don't. If anyone hears about this, you're a dead man," Yamato said, smirking.

"My lips are sealed!" Taichi laughed. He set down the drying towel and faced Yamato. "I guess I better go home now. Thank you again."

Taichi started to leave the kitchen, but Yamato grabbed his sleeve. Taichi looked at him questioningly, and Yamato was surprised at his own action.

"Stay," he said, not quite realizing he'd spoken. "An empty home is a lonely place."

"Yamato…?"

"I've got some extra blankets. You can sleep on the couch."

"Would your parents mind?"

Yamato shut his eyes. Of course his parents wouldn't mind; his mother lived in a different city, and his father was dead. "They're not here," he ended up saying.

"I see," Taichi said. He smiled. "Thanks."

Yamato looked away. "I'll get that blanket," he muttered, slipping away. By the time he returned, Taichi was already on the couch, fast asleep.

--

Taichi awoke just before midnight, his mind filled with thoughts. He thought first of Hikari, wondering if she was okay, wondering where she was. He then thought of the events of the day, the searching, the collapsing, and the waking… Lastly, he thought about Yamato, and the thoughts of the blonde pushed out all the other thoughts. He thought of the other boy's unusual behavior, and how the boy seemed like a different person when he was here at home. He thought of how Yamato had asked him what was wrong, and how he'd become less hostile and almost friendly after Taichi had told him. He thought of how peaceful the blonde looked when he was cooking, and how he didn't seem uncomfortable having Taichi around. He thought of how Yamato had offered him food and a place to stay where he wouldn't be alone. And he thought of how Yamato had brushed it all off as "a favor from one older brother to another," and wondered about Yamato's family and where they had gone.

But most of all, he simply thought of Yamato. The thoughts of the angelic-looking blonde lulled him back to sleep for several more hours.

When Taichi awoke again, it was just before dawn. He quietly folded the blanket that had been covering him, wondering if Yamato had put it over him. He moved to the kitchen, looking for paper and something to write with. Locating the items in a drawer, he scribbled down a message for Yamato and placed it on the counter, hoping it would be noticed. Taichi headed for the door, but suddenly deciding he wanted to make sure Yamato found his note, he searched for Yamato's room.

He found the room on his first try, but that wasn't too hard since there were only three doors to choose from and one was already open to reveal the bathroom. Yamato was asleep at his desk, his head resting on his arms. Taichi smiled gently and retrieved the blanket he'd folded, using it to cover Yamato. He placed the note he'd written next to the sleeping blonde and retreated from the room, softly closing the door behind him. He left the apartment and sighed.

It had been quite the Sunday.

--

**Closing notes:** About 1000 words longer than last chapter! Yay! Leave a review if you'd like, and I'll see you next chapter!


	6. Sixth Pieces: I Wish

**Disclaimer:** Yes, I admit it, I own Digimon... in my dreams. I don't own the show, the characters, etc, etc. 

**Author's notes:**  
-First off, a huge **THANK YOU** to everyone who reviewed :gives flowers to all the reviewers:  
-I dislike parts of this chapter, but I managed to edit them to the point that I don't hate them any more.  
-The digimon shall make an appearance... soon-ish.  
-As a reminder, I'm using the American names when referring to the TV show of Digimon, and the Japanese names when referring to the "real people."  
-This's almost definately gonna have some Taito fluff... eventually. If you don't like male/male pairings, don't read it! Simple, ne?

—

**The Sixth Pieces: I Wish**

_Well, at least Yamato will be happy_, Taichi thought sullenly upon his arrival at school Monday morning.

Hikari had returned home shortly after Taichi had, surprised to see that her older brother was awake despite his fondness for oversleeping. Taichi had immediately asked where she had been, and was dismayed to learn that not only had she been perfectly safe at Takeru's house, but she had also _told_ him where she was going before she'd left. Taichi was furious at himself for having not listening to her… and he had a bad feeling that Yamato would also be furious if he knew.

It was then Taichi decided he most definitely could not let Yamato know that the whole thing had been a false alarm. As much as he didn't want to, he'd made up his mind to avoid the blonde.

Thus, Taichi was quite dismayed when Yamato was the one to approach _him_.

Yamato asked only one word, "And?"

Taichi glanced at him sheepishly. "She's fine," Taichi answered, praying that Yamato wouldn't ask where she'd been. "Came home early this morning."

A smile graced Yamato's lips, and Taichi would have been thrilled were he not worrying that Yamato would murder him any second. "Good. Don't let her wander off again; I don't want you to make passing out in my store a habit."

Taichi laughed, his spirits rising; it seemed Yamato wasn't interested in where Hikari had gone. "Understood."

The smile disappeared from Yamato's face, replaced by his icy mask. "Good," he said coldly, turning and walking away from Taichi.

Taichi grinned. After thinking long and hard about yesterday, Taichi had realized that the true Yamato was the one he'd seen at the blonde's house. Yamato _not_ the mask he showed the world… and that knowledge simply fueled Taichi's determination.

—

Yamato sat down in his first period class, silently reprimanding himself for having approached the brunette when he'd arrived at school. He didn't need to know if Taichi's sister had come back. He didn't _want_ to know.

_Admit it_, a voice in his head told him. _You were worried._

Yamato almost laughed at the thought. He most certainly had _not_ been worried about Taichi and his sister.

_Oh, but you were_, the voice said. _It's no different than if Takeru had been the one to disappear._

Yamato shook his head. No, it was different. Takeru was _his_ brother. He didn't even know Taichi's sister's name. How could he have been worried about someone he didn't know?

The irrational voice fell silent, and Yamato was pleased by his apparent victory over it as the class proceeded. Now that Taichi's sister was safe and sound and Yamato didn't need to make sure Taichi didn't die looking for her, he was free to forget all about Taichi's existence.

_Is it really that simple?_ the voice asked, suddenly returning when the bell rang. Yamato frowned, heading to his second class. _Can you really pretend that he never existed?_

Yamato selected a desk by a window, farther towards the back than he usually sat. Of course he could pretend Taichi never existed. There had been others who were like Taichi, and Taichi would soon give up, just as the others had. Helping the brunette had been special circumstances; Yamato was sure Taichi understood that he wouldn't be nice like that a second time. Taichi would stop hanging around him now, leaving him free to be Ishida the lone wolf again.

His thoughts were interrupted as someone sat down in the desk next to him. He was puzzled for a moment; the seat next to him was _always_ left vacant. He glanced to the side and saw Taichi, grinning from ear to ear.

"I thought I'd sit next to you today," Taichi said cheerfully, and Yamato groaned.

_Okay_, Yamato admitted silently, _maybe it won't be that simple._

—

"Kou-chan, you comin' to lunch?" Sora asked the redheaded boy, poking her head inside the computer lab. Koushirou was typing quickly, his eyes glued to the monitor.

"Not today," he responded as he continued typing. "I'm working on a job. And as I've requested before, please refrain from calling me 'Kou-chan.'"

Sora sighed. "_Another_ job? But you just finished one a few months ago!"

"Normally I would not take another job so soon, but this one has special circumstances. Plus, I am quite intrigued by the requested program… It's an advanced AI which—"

"Don't bother explaining," Sora said, stopping the computer-lover in mid-sentence. "I'll bring you a sandwich or something," she added as she left the lab.

Yamato and Taichi had already sat down by the time Sora arrived at the cafeteria. Taichi was sitting across from Yamato as he usually did, causing Sora to smile. She had spoken harshly to Taichi several times about continuing to hang around Yamato, but it was mostly at the insistence of Koushirou, who seemed to believe that the very idea of a friendship between Taichi and Yamato was doomed. Sora herself was rather pleased with Taichi's persistence. She felt that Yamato desperately needed a friend to warm the cold, lonely world he lived in.

Sora joined the boys, taking her usual seat next to Yamato. "Hi Tai, hi Mattie," she said cheerfully. Yamato winced slightly.

"Hey Sora," Tai responded, grinning. "Where's Koushirou? He usually comes in with you."

Sora sighed. "He's _busy_. He accepted another job from some company, so he's gonna be holed up in the computer lab for a couple weeks."

"A job? But our school doesn't allow work…" Taichi asked, trailing off. He glanced at Yamato.

"They make some exceptions, in special cases. Koushirou is a _major_ exception," Sora explained. "The school's so proud that he's a student here that as long as he's physically _in_ the school when he's working on the jobs he takes, the teachers don't even care if he attends class or not. So until he's done, he'll be in the computer lab all day, every day. One of the computers in there is actually his own personal computer that he brought in so that he can use it for work."

"I see…" Taichi said, looking at Yamato again. The blonde boy looked away.

Yamato stood up and started to leave. "Oh, Mattie, if you're done, take this to Kou-chan for me," Sora said, holding out a sandwich. "I promised him something to eat; we both know he won't leave the lab on his own."

Yamato looked at the sandwich for a moment before he took it from Sora and nodded. As he headed towards the door of the lunchroom, Sora moved into the newly vacated seat so that she'd be across from Taichi.

"So, how's it going?" she asked.

Taichi studied Yamato until he was out of sight before responding, "Okay, I hope. I think things have been getting better between us, but… it's hard to tell."

"I didn't mean how things with Yamato were going," Sora clarified, laughing. "I want to know how _you're_ doing."

Taichi looked at Sora. "Oh. In that case, I'm doing fine," he said before returning his attention to his lunch. A few minutes later, Yamato suddenly reappeared, flopping down into the seat next to Taichi.

"Yamato?" Taichi asked, seemingly surprised that the blonde had returned.

Yamato shook his head and leaned forward against the table. "Sora, I don't care what you say, I am _not_ going into the computer lab when Koushirou's working ever again."

Sora laughed. "What'd he do? Talk about his program?"

Yamato nodded. "Yeah. He was trying to explain it to me, but he kept stopping and talking to the computer. I think he was having a conversation with it."

"Fine, I won't make you deliver lunch to Kou-chan again."

"_Thank you_," he said. For a second, he looked quite visibly relieved. "I mean, he's scarier than I am! And that's saying a _lot_." Taichi shuddered at the thought.

Sora laughed again and smiled; it had been a long time since she'd seen Yamato like this… For the first time in years, his carefully-constructed mask had dropped away, even if it had only been for a brief moment. She silently thanked Taichi.

Even if Yamato didn't realize it, he was being healed.

—

A world of black, a world of white. The dream… again.

"Hey Takeru," Yamato said as he sat down, his eyes never leaving the angelic form of his little brother. "I… I really miss you. I miss dad, too, but I know I can never see him again. But with you… You're still out there somewhere. I wish I could see you again."

Yamato looked down, thinking. "I wish dad hadn't died. I wish our mother hadn't moved away. I wish she and dad hadn't divorced. I wish… I wish none of it had ever happened."

"Wishing doesn't change things, Yamato."

Yamato's head snapped up at the sound of the voice. "…Takeru?" he whispered, staring at his brother. The child hadn't moved an inch and wasn't even looking at him. Nothing seemed to indicate that Takeru had been the speaker, but… they were alone, weren't they?

"Wishes are things that aren't obtained," the voice continued. "A wish that you go after becomes a goal. Just saying 'I wish' does nothing." The voice definitely wasn't Takeru's, but it sounded so familiar…

For the first time, Yamato noticed someone standing behind his brother, though he could have sworn that no one had been there a few seconds ago. He slowly looked up at the newcomer, his eyes narrowing when he saw the speaker's brown eyes and messy brown hair. Taichi stood before him, dressed in the same white clothes and with the same white wings as Takeru.

"_You_," Yamato spat, standing up. "Why can't you leave me alone?"

"Is that what you really want, Yamato? To be left alone?"

"Yes!" he shouted, glaring at the brunette.

"Is it really so hard for you to accept that someone wants to be your friend?"

"I… I don't need friends! All they do is hurt you in the end!"

"Have you ever had a friend, Yamato? A _real_ friend, not just an acquaintance."

"…N-no," Yamato replied, breaking eye contact.

"Then how do you know you'll be hurt?"

Yamato began to glare at Taichi again. "I just _know_, okay?"

"I think you—" the brunette began to say, stopping suddenly and bursting into song. Yamato looked at him in confusion, wondering why he was singing a cheesy love song.

"What the hell?" he questioned just before he opened his eyes.

Yamato groaned and rolled over, feeling for the button to turn off the radio. Upon finding the button, the room fell silent, and Yamato pulled himself into a sitting position. "Taichi, you idiot," he whispered. "Just leave me alone…"

—

Taichi opened his eyes groggily, wondering what that ringing noise was and where it was coming from. The ringing stopped shortly after it had so rudely pulled Taichi from his slumber, but when it began again, Taichi was awake enough to be able to determine it was the telephone.

"Hiiiikaaaariiii!" he called, rolling over. "Answer that, will ya'?"

The phone remained unanswered for several more rings, so Taichi reluctantly dragged himself out of bed to go find the phone. On the way out of the room, he noted his sister's bed was empty.

"Hello?" he yawned, picking up the phone.

"Taichi! It's me, Takeru. Is Hikari there?"

Taichi yawned again. "Don't think so. I think she mentioned yesterday that she was going shopping with Sora, and I think she already left."

"Oh, well, as soon as she gets back, can you tell her that my mom just found out where she's getting transferred to, and—"

"I'll have Hika call you when she gets home," Taichi stated, barely hearing anything Takeru said.

"Ah, wait, Taichi! Just tell her—"

Taichi set the receiver down and trudged back to his bedroom. What on earth had possessed Takeru to call at the ridiculously early hour of… whenever? Taichi glanced at the clock, finding that it was almost noon. _Well, so much for going back to bed_, he decided.

Tomorrow it would be two full weeks since the day he'd stayed at Yamato's house when he'd thought Hikari had disappeared. While he occasionally caught quick glimpses of the Yamato he'd seen that day since then, the blonde boy had shown no overall change, other than being a bit more vocal in telling Taichi to go away. But that was progress, wasn't it?

Taichi grinned. Maybe he'd pay Yamato a visit today…

—

"Hello!" Taichi said cheerfully, entering the music shop. He looked around, noting that it was empty save for Yamato and another employee. "Don't you guys ever have customers?"

Yamato had been glaring at something in front of him on the counter, but he quickly shifted his glare to rest on Taichi. "We have enough customers," he said, gritting his teeth. "Though there is this one guy who keeps coming here but never buys anything. So, _valued customer_, can I help you find anything to _purchase_?"

"Nope, just browsing!" Taichi grinned, and Yamato sighed, returning his attention to whatever he'd been glaring at earlier. Curious, Taichi walked over to the counter and found that the thing Yamato was so focused on was an envelope. "What's that?" he asked. Yamato gave no reply, so Taichi snatched it off the counter.

"Hey, give that back!" Yamato said, quickly standing up and reaching for the envelope. Taichi pulled it out of Yamato's reach.

"Oh? Must be pretty important, eh?" Taichi asked, raising an eyebrow. Holding the letter at a distance, he read, "To Ishida Yamato. From… hey, there's no return address." Taichi dropped the letter back on the counter, and Yamato quickly grabbed it.

"That's because she doesn't want me to know where she is," Yamato said, glaring at the envelope again.

"She? She, who? Your secret girlfriend?"

Yamato rolled his eyes. "No, you idiot. This is from my mother."

"…Your mother?"

"Yes. My mother, also known as the woman who married my dad and gave birth to me. Do I really have to explain everything to you?"

"I know who you're talking about," Taichi defended. "I was just thinking… The way you referred to her sounded so cold… and distant, I guess."

"Well, I hardly know her," Yamato muttered, so softly that Taichi barely heard him.

"Why's that?"

Yamato glared at Taichi again. "None of your business."

"Oh come on… Tell me!" Taichi insisted, grinning.

Yamato sighed. "I wish you'd leave me alone."

"Wishing doesn't change things, Yamato."

Yamato's glare instantly vanished, and his mask fell away. Taichi could see surprise in Yamato's blue eyes. "What did you say?" Yamato whispered.

"I said that wishing doesn't change things," Taichi repeated. He didn't understand why the words had affected Yamato so much. "Just saying 'I wish' does nothing."

Yamato closed his eyes and turned away. "If you're not going to buy anything, you should leave," he said.

"I want to be your friend, Yamato. Is it so hard to accept that?"

"You're disrupting the customers."

"There _are_ no customers right now, Yamato. Answer my question."

Several minutes passed in silence, neither of the boys moving. Finally, Yamato asked, "Can I trust you?"

"Yes," Taichi answered. "You can trust me."

"Then prove it to me. Prove that I can trust you."

Taichi felt strangely relieved. "What would you have me do?"

"First off, no more questions about my life. If I want to tell you something, I'll bring it up."

"Okay."

"And second… Leave me alone for a while. Let's say… a month. For one month, you cannot talk to me, and you cannot come near me. Don't sit next to me in class. Completely ignore my presence, and don't tell anyone why you're avoiding me, _especially_ Sora. If you promise to do that for the entire month and can keep that promise… I'll begin to trust you."

"I promise."

"Good," Yamato said, sitting down. "The month starts now. I'd suggest you leave."

Taichi opened his mouth to say goodbye, but quickly shut it. Instead, he nodded to Yamato and headed out of the store. He glanced at the blonde, who had resumed his glaring match with the defenseless envelope. Avoiding Yamato for a month wasn't going to be easy, and he had the feeling that Yamato was going to make it even more difficult. But if it meant winning the blonde's trust and becoming his friend… he had to do it.

As the door shut behind him, Taichi tried to ignore the feeling that he wanted more than just Yamato's friendship. He was playing a dangerous game now, with Yamato as the wager. Taichi didn't want to think about what might happen if he lost.

—

Yamato glanced up when he heard the shop door shut. Taichi was gone, and Yamato let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as he began to shake. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was starting to realize that Taichi's persistence scared him. No one had ever stuck around as long as Taichi had, other than Koushirou and Sora. _But they don't count_, Yamato reasoned.

Several minutes passed before Yamato managed to calm down. Taichi saying the same thing he had in the dream had startled him more than he'd expected. If he hadn't gotten Taichi to leave when he had… he may have completely broken down in front of the brunette. And that was, in Yamato's opinion, unacceptable.

Yamato looked at the envelope he held and slowly opened it, emptying its contents onto the counter. As usual, his mother hadn't sent a letter, only a check. He lifted it up and sighed. It was the same amount as last month, barely enough to cover the rent for his apartment. He wished that she would at least include a note, and he almost laughed when he realized he'd made another wish. But a note _would_ have been nice. It wouldn't have to be anything fancy, just "Hi, how are you? Takeru and I are fine." But no, she wanted nothing to do with Yamato. She thought Yamato was too much like his father. He was too bad at expressing emotions, and he worked too hard, and he loved the people he loved too much to let them go without being hurt by their departure. He was too unlike _her_. Yes, _she_ didn't care if she hurt the ones who loved her, just as long as _she_ was happy.

Yamato folded the check in half and put it in his pocket. _Well, at least she's not completely neglecting me_, Yamato decided. _But still… a note would be nice._

—

"Taichi? Are you coming to lunch today?" Sora asked on Friday, just before lunch. Almost one week had passed since he'd promised Yamato that he'd stay away for a month, and the week had been horrible. All week, he'd spent his second period class staring at the blonde from across the room, but he desperately wanted to talk to him. He was so used to being around Yamato that avoiding him was like going through withdrawal from an addiction.

Taichi put on his friendliest smile and turned to face Sora. "I'd love to, Sora, but I'm kinda busy. I think I'm just going to eat while I work on some homework."

Sora put her hands on her hips, and her brow creased in concern. "Taichi, are you avoiding Yamato? I haven't seen you around him at all this week."

_She's sharp_, Taichi applauded silently. He'd been coming up with excuses as to why he couldn't eat lunch with Sora and Yamato all week, but he was running out of things to tell her. He wished he could just explain the situation, but leaving Sora in the dark had been part of the promise. "No, I'm not," Taichi lied. "I'm just busy."

Sora studied Taichi suspiciously, but she seemed to decide to let it go. "Well, just don't ignore him next Thursday, okay? It's his birthday."

"His birthday?" Taichi asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. I know he won't tell you when it is, so I figured I had to."

"Thanks for letting me know," Taichi said, disliking the feeling that was settling in his stomach. He wanted to wish Yamato a happy birthday, but the promise… "You'll have to help me pick out a gift."

"No problem," Sora said, smiling. "Oh, since you're not joining us for lunch, take this to Koushirou. He'll be in the lab." Sora held out a paper bag.

"Okay," Taichi responded, taking the bag.

"Well, I'm going to lunch. See you later."

Taichi watched Sora head towards the lunchroom before he turned to go deliver Koushirou's lunch. On the way, he wondered if having Sora deliver a card and present to Yamato next week would be breaking the promise. After mentally reviewing Yamato's terms over and over, he finally concluded that buying Yamato a present during the promised month wouldn't be against the agreement, but having it delivered would be. He didn't like the idea, but Yamato's birthday present would have to be given to him a few weeks late.

Upon entering the computer lab, Taichi was greeted by the shout, "STUPID COMPUTER!" and the sight of Koushirou holding a computer against his hip while trying to open the window with one hand.

"…Koushirou?"

Koushirou's head snapped towards Taichi, and he almost lost hold of the computer. "Whoa," he muttered, moving his hand away from the window briefly in order to fix the balance of the computer.

Taichi set down the bag he held and quickly crossed the lab, pulling the computer away from Koushirou. He set it down on the desk, apparently in the same place the redheaded boy had taken it from. He noted that despite having picked it up, Koushirou hadn't unplugged anything from the unit.

"…What were you doing?" Taichi asked.

Koushirou looked outside. "I was gonna throw it out the window."

"…Why were you going to throw the computer out the window?"

Koushirou turned his attention to the computer that he'd tried to destroy. "Because it's stupid," he said. "Stupid computer. I hate computers. Hear that, Loki? I hate you."

Taichi blinked. _I guess Yamato was right when he said Koushirou was scary when he's working… He's like a different person…_

"First off, throwing the computer out the window isn't going to solve anything," Taichi said after thinking for a moment. "Second, I _know_ you don't hate computers; you're just saying that. And third… have you gotten any sleep?" Taichi added, noting the dark marks under Koushirou's eyes.

"I've slept."

"When?"

"…Tuesday?"

Taichi sighed. "You seriously need to sleep, Koushirou. Doctor's orders."

"You're not a doctor," Koushirou argued.

"Do you want me to get Sora involved? I'm sure she'll be thrilled about your lack of sleep."

"…No."

"Then come with me to the nurse's office."

"…Okay."

Taichi led Koushirou to the office and explained the situation to the nurse, who was more than happy to let Koushirou borrow a bed. Koushirou was reluctant to climb in, but he was asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

Taichi thanked the nurse and left the office, allowing his thoughts to return to Yamato again. Three and a half weeks left until he could talk to Yamato again… this was going to be hell.

—

When Taichi arrived home, he noted with a bit of confusion that his sister was humming. She only hummed when she was _extremely_ happy.

"You've been rather happy lately," he commented, setting down his backpack and heading for the kitchen to find some food.

"Yep!" she said cheerfully, following Taichi into the kitchen to fetch a carton of ice cream.

Taichi glanced at the ice cream his sister had taken out, but decided to find something else to eat. "Want to tell me why?"

"Oh? Didn't I tell you?" she asked, trying to act surprised. "I guess I _forgot_ just like you _forgot_ to tell me Takeru had called."

Taichi rolled his eyes and decided on some cookies. "C'mon, Hika. That was last week, and I was half-asleep when he called."

Hikari stuck her tongue out at her brother. "Fine, I guess I'll tell you," she said, grinning. "Takeru's moving. He's coming to Odaiba!"

—

**Closing notes:** I've been wanting to write that Koushirou part for a few chapters, but I only now found a good place to put it. And as an odd piece of trivia, Loki is actually the name of my computer. Anyway, leave a review if you're so inclined, and I'll see you next chapter!


	7. Seventh Pieces: Waiting for You

**Disclaimer:** Yes, I admit it, I own Digimon... in my dreams. I don't own the show, the characters, etc, etc. 

**Author's notes:**  
-First off, a huge **THANK YOU** to everyone who reviewed :gives early Valentines Day chocolates to all the reviewers:  
-I completely and totally made up the band mentioned in this chapter. You can decide for yourself what kind of music they play, as I doubt I'll ever specify a particular genre. As far as the band's name goes... for some reason, I've always wanted to use that in a story.  
-I apologize for this chapter being a little disjointed. It covers a much larger period of time than most of my chapters do.  
-Digimon! Next chapter! I swear!  
-As a reminder, I'm using the American names when referring to the TV show of Digimon, and the Japanese names when referring to the "real people."  
-This's almost definately gonna have some Taito fluff... eventually. If you don't like male/male pairings, don't read it! Simple, ne?

—

**The Seventh Pieces: Waiting for You**

Taichi studied the two CDs he held, hoping that if he concentrated hard enough, he'd just _know_ which one Yamato would prefer. As it was, the concentration was only giving him a headache.

Unable to decide on a CD, he returned both of them to the shelf. He knew that Yamato liked music, but that was the _only_ thing he knew the blonde liked. Hikari had said she'd learned Yamato played an instrument, but she hadn't found out which one. Besides, he probably already owned whatever it was that he played, and instruments were much more expensive than Taichi could afford.

As he started to leave, another CD caught his eye. It was shoved off to the side, at the top of a stack of CDs that weren't in their proper places. The cover was solid black, with the words "All-Natural Vikings" in small white letters in the lower right-hand corner. Taichi didn't know why he'd noticed the simple-looking CD among all the other flashy covers, but he felt mysteriously drawn to it.

Taichi had heard the band play several years ago, but it had been a long time since he'd heard anything about them. Their songs had never made the top ten, but there was just _something_ about their music… something special. Taichi picked up the CD and studied it for a moment before deciding that this was it. This was what he'd give Yamato. But it alone wasn't enough…

As Taichi paid for the CD, he tried to think of what else he could give Yamato. It would be the first time celebrating his friend's birthday, so he needed to go all-out with it.

Friend. Taichi smiled to himself as he left the store. A little more than three weeks, and then… Yamato really would be his friend, and he, Yamato's.

Taichi's small smile quickly spread to a grin. _Just three and a half weeks left. I can't wait for it to be over._

—

_I can't wait for it to be over_, Yamato thought. He glanced at the clock again and groaned. _Three and a half hours left._

Being at school was more miserable than usual, and Yamato was forced to admit that it was horrible because of the stupid, stupid promise he'd had Taichi make. When he'd proposed the deal, he had hoped that Taichi wouldn't be able to keep it so that he'd have an excuse to distrust the brunette and continue to drive him away. But now… he wasn't so sure that's what he wanted. With mixed feelings, he was finding that he actually _missed_ the other boy.

So there he was in class on Monday, only a bit more than halfway through school, wanting the day to be over instantly. Or better yet, the week. Once the weekend came, he could spend all day at work, maybe do a little overtime, and be able to get through the day without once thinking that he'd like to walk up to Taichi and call the whole thing off. Because no matter how much he might be starting to think that it would be better to have Taichi around again, he _couldn't_. Not now. Not yet.

He needed to be alone for a little while longer.

—

Taichi poked his head into the computer lab, which appeared to be empty. "Koushirou?" he called.

"I'm here, Taichi," Koushirou's voice responded calmly. Taichi looked around for the redhead, eventually spotting him sitting on the floor in the corner. His computer was set up on the floor, and he had papers spread all around him.

"Um… why aren't you at one of the desks?" Taichi asked, approaching the computer genius.

Koushirou smiled slightly, but didn't look up from the computer screen. "I needed a change of scenery, I suppose. And after my stunt last Friday, I came to the conclusion that I should stay away from the windows for a while."

Taichi laughed and held out a paper bag. "Sora had me deliver your lunch again," he said.

"Thank you," Koushirou said, glancing at Taichi. "Set it wherever you'd like; I'll get it when I take a break."

"So, how's it going? And please, save the details."

"Much better," Koushirou said, chuckling softly. "I did no work on the program over the weekend, and it seems that a break is truly what I needed. Things have been going quite smoothly since then."

"Good to hear," Taichi said, sitting down and pulling a book and some food out of his backpack. "I'm going to stay in here, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind," Koushirou replied, searching through his papers for something. Finding it, he typed for a few more minutes before stretching his arms and reaching for the bag Taichi had brought him.

"So, are you almost done with that thing?" Taichi asked once Koushirou had started eating. "You've been working on it for a couple of weeks now."

"I'm far from finished. It's quite a difficult program… But even though it made me want to throw my computer out the window, I'm glad I accepted this job," Koushirou said with a smile. "I'm really glad about it… for a number of reasons."

"So in words I can understand, what does it do?"

"It's an advanced application in artificial intelligence. I can't really explain it to you more than that right now… You can see it when I finish; it'll make more sense to see it in action."

"So how much longer do you think it'll take?"

"I've been receiving some assistance in order to finish it as quickly as possible, and if we are able continue at the pace we've been going…" Koushirou trailed off, considering. "About three more weeks… maybe a little less."

Three more weeks… Koushirou's project would end around the same time as Taichi's promise to Yamato. He could use this to his advantage in order to avoid Yamato at lunchtime without Sora suspecting anything. He could just claim that he wanted to make sure Koushirou was staying sane… and he could bring up last Friday's incident if necessary.

Yes, he could definitely use this.

—

"Happy birthday, Mattie!" Sora said cheerfully, holding out an envelope. Yamato eyed it suspiciously.

"I've told you before, Sora: I don't want you to give me anything."

"Just take it," another voice said. Koushirou walked past Yamato to stand next to Sora. "Birthdays only happen once a year; that's not too often for you to accept kindness, is it?"

Yamato couldn't think of anything to say to the redheads, so he reluctantly took the envelope from Sora. "Thanks," he mumbled, opening the card. It was rather cheerful-looking, with an equally cheerful birthday greeting. A check was tucked inside.

"It's not a lot," Sora said, looking at the ground. "I wanted to get you a real gift, but considering what happened last year… I figured that you could use the money more."

"As did I," Koushirou said, producing his own card for Yamato and placing it in the blonde's hands. Yamato muttered another uncomfortable word of thanks.

Sora looked around. "Um… Have you seen Taichi today?" she asked.

"I did in class," Yamato stated, wondering what Sora was up to. "Why?"

"Just wondering… Oh, there he is! Taichi!"

Yamato glanced in the direction Sora was looking. Taichi's head had turned in their direction until he'd noticed Yamato, and then he'd quickly looked away.

"Where's he going?" Sora muttered as the brunette started to walk away. She headed in his direction, calling out to him again. Taichi didn't look towards her this time and continued to walk away from them.

Yamato smiled slightly, somewhat amused as he watched Taichi actively attempt to keep the promise he'd made. He quickly wiped the smile from his face when he realized that Koushirou was watching him.

"You're up to something, aren't you?" the redhead asked.

"Perhaps."

"I won't interfere, if that's what you're concerned about. It's none of my business," Koushirou stated. "Though I certainly have a guess as to why you've planned whatever your scheme is."

"And your guess?" Yamato asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You don't want Taichi around _that_ day."

Yamato looked down the hall in the direction Taichi and Sora had gone. "You've really known me too long, Koushirou," he said quietly.

Koushirou looked down the hall in the same direction Yamato was looking. "Perhaps," he echoed.

—

"Taichi!" Sora called again. Taichi glanced back, hoping that she was farther away than before. He was displeased to find that she had almost caught him.

"Sora, I really have to get home!" Taichi said desperately. _I can't let her ask me…_

"Yagami Taichi, why didn't you talk to Yamato today?"

_…that question_, Taichi sullenly finished his thought. He reluctantly stopped walking and turned to face her; he couldn't escape her questioning now.

"I didn't have time," he said. He knew it was a poor excuse, but… he couldn't tell her about the promise to Yamato.

Sora crossed her arms. "Taichi…"

"Sora, I'm sorry, I _really_ am. But it's _absolutely_ true," he lied.

"You said you got him a present."

"I did. I just haven't had a chance to give it to him. And I accidentally left it at home. And that's why I'm going home now," he said. He _really_ didn't like lying…

Sora narrowed her eyes. "Okay…" she said slowly. "I'll see you tomorrow, I guess. And you'd _better_ give him that present."

Sora turned to leave, and as Taichi watched her retreating figure, he silently gave thanks that she hadn't questioned him further. He was running out of things to tell her.

—

"I'm home," Yamato said as he entered his apartment and set down his things, knowing perfectly well that no one was there to hear him. It definitely wasn't the first time that he'd come home to the empty apartment, but it was the first time he'd done so on his birthday.

His dad had been a workaholic for as long as Yamato could remember, but he'd always taken Yamato's birthday off in order to spend the day with his son. He was a hopeless cook, so he would take Yamato out to eat and try to hide the burnt remains of what was supposed to be dinner in the trash. After dinner, they'd watch a movie of Yamato's choosing, and then just talk until they got tired. His dad had been the only person Yamato could be himself around. His dad was the only person who wouldn't leave him.

But then… he'd died, and left Yamato all alone.

Yamato frowned and tried to think of something else. He didn't want to be thinking about his dad's death today of all days.

The first thing to come to mind was Taichi; the brunette had been on Yamato's mind a lot lately. He wondered if Taichi would have made a big deal out of his birthday if it weren't for the promise, and he eventually came to the conclusion that yes, Taichi would've made a _very_ big deal out of it.

Yamato grabbed a marker and walked to the calendar he kept in the kitchen, circling two dates. The first was twelve days from today, and the second was four days after that. Under the number of the second date, he wrote "Taichi." It was the day the promised period would be over. He was really starting to look forward to that day, to find out if there was someone he could trust again. At the same time, however, he didn't want it to come. Because before then, _that_ day would come…

Yamato quickly pushed the thought from his mind, and a half-hearted, twisted smile appeared on his face. "Happy birthday to me," he whispered.

—

"Hi Taichi!" Sora cheerfully greeted him. _She's gonna ask…_ "Did you give Mattie his present?"

"Uh… tried to. He refused to take it," Taichi lied, hoping it was believable enough. Once he'd fulfilled his promise, he'd explain everything to her…

Sora sighed. "That's just like him," she said. "I'll talk to him about it."

"No!" Taichi exclaimed a bit too quickly. Then, more calmly, he explained, "No, it's okay. I don't want any help on this. I want to be the one to get him to accept it. So please, don't say anything to Yamato about it."

Sora smiled. "Okay!" she agreed. Taichi sighed inwardly. He really wasn't looking forward to two and a half more weeks of lying to Sora. Lying _really_ wasn't his strong suit; he was quite surprised that Sora had believed everything. She may've still been suspicious, but… she'd at least accepted his words.

Avoiding Yamato was really proving to be the easier part of the promise.

—

Yamato awoke from a long, dreamless sleep and stared at the clock on his nightstand. Twelve days had already passed since his birthday… He was skipping school today, and the clock already read a few minutes before noon. He never slept in so late, but today was different. Today, he wouldn't have minded not waking up.

He dragged himself out of bed slowly, and got dressed even more slowly. He slowly cooked himself breakfast… or rather, lunch. He just didn't have the energy to move at a normal pace today; he felt completely drained.

As far as Yamato was concerned, this was definitely the worst day of the year.

—

"Are you going to join us for lunch today?" Sora asked. Taichi was at his locker, putting away his books.

"I… guess I can…" he said nervously. He hadn't seen Yamato in class earlier that day; it seemed that the blonde was absent.

"Great!" Sora said. Taichi shut his locker and followed her to the lunchroom "Oh, just so you know, Koushirou finished that job of his yesterday afternoon, so I don't need you to run lunch over to him any more."

Taichi groaned inwardly. Koushirou having finished his job sooner than expected meant that he no longer had an excuse to avoid eating lunch with Sora and Yamato. He'd have to come up with some other excuse for the remaining week. As they sat down across from Koushirou, Taichi decided that he might as well let her know in advance that he wouldn't be spending lunchtime with them once Yamato was back at school… "Um, Sora? I know I said I can eat lunch with you guys today, but that's _only_ today. I've been really busy lately, and I probably won't have time to hang out tomorrow…"

Sora sighed. "Figures. It's a shame that the only day you've had time lately was today, though… Almost seems like Mattie scheduled it." She turned towards Taichi, studying him carefully. "He's not threatening you, is he? Blackmail? Torture?"

Taichi couldn't help but laugh at Sora's speculations. "Of course not! Like I said—I've been busy."

Sora shot one last suspicious look at Taichi before focusing on her food. "I _guess_ I'll believe that…" she decided.

As they were finishing eating, Sora suddenly asked, "Kou-chan, are you coming today?"

"I plan to," Koushirou responded, glancing at Taichi.

"Right after school, then. I'll meet you at your place."

Taichi looked at them curiously. "Where're you going?" he asked.

"Um…" Sora started to say, her cheeks turning slightly pink.

"We're visiting an old friend," Koushirou answered for her.

"Yeah. An old friend," Sora said, smiling weakly. Taichi thought she looked a bit sad…

A loud ring interrupted his thoughts, and Koushirou quickly pulled a cellphone out of his bag. "Izumi Koushirou speaking."

The person on the other end of the line said something, and then Koushirou asked, "What do you mean, 'it didn't work'?"

Another pause, and then, "Well, did you try to talk to it?"

A longer pause. "Suzuki-san was taking care of that part," Koushirou said, pausing again. "No, I'll fix it. Scripting that will take a week or two. I'll talk with Suzuki-san tonight to find out what went wrong. Thank you."

Koushirou pulled the phone away from his ear and returned it to his bag.

"Job's not over, is it?" Sora asked, sighing.

Koushirou shook his head. "Some problems appeared during testing. I suppose I cannot be too surprised; we were working very quickly. I'll be starting work again tomorrow."

Sora turned to Taichi. "You said you're busy, but can you keep taking Kou-chan his lunch?" she asked. Koushirou's eyebrow twitched at the continued use of Sora's nickname for him.

Taichi nodded. "Sure."

"Thanks." Sora flashed him a smile before turning back to Koushirou. "You're still coming today, _right_?"

"Of course I am."

"Good…" Sora said softly, looking down at her mostly-finished lunch. The sad look had returned to her eyes, and Taichi wondered why.

—

"Hey dad," Yamato whispered, setting a bouquet of flowers across the grave he was facing. "It's been a whole year now. Sorry I haven't visited lately… I got kinda distracted."

He crouched down so that he could face the name on the tombstone more easily. "There's this kid that started going to my school mid-year. For some reason, he just won't leave me alone, even though I've been putting him through all sorts of shit. I don't know why he keeps coming back for more, but… Honestly, I actually want to be his friend now. He's been so damn stubborn, but I guess I kinda admire that. I really wish you could meet him… I think you would have liked him."

Yamato sat on the ground and continued to talk about things that had happened in the past year. Hours passed without Yamato moving away from the grave.

"You shouldn't have skipped school, Yamato," someone behind him said. Yamato glanced back to see the source of the voice and found Koushirou, who was wearing a suit. Sora stood next to him, also dressed up. They both held bouquets of flowers. "But I understand why you did."

Yamato stood up to face them. "You guys remembered…"

"Of course we remembered," Sora said, walking to Yamato's side. Koushirou followed her, and they set the flowers on the grave. "You're our friend."

Yamato smiled slightly. "Thank you…" he said. Yes, they _were_ his friends, even if he never had admitted it to himself before. He could trust them and rely on them. Just like Taichi, they kept coming back whenever he tried to push them away. And in four more days, Yamato would stop trying to push Taichi away.

Sora smiled at Yamato and then looked at Mr. Ishida's grave. "I… I haven't told Taichi anything about your family," she said. "Sooner or later, you'll have to tell him yourself."

Yamato nodded. "I know… I'm just not ready to yet. I need a little more time."

—

Taichi flopped down on the couch, turning on the TV. He wondered why Yamato hadn't been at school today. If it weren't for the promise, he'd call the blonde to make sure that everything was okay… Taichi frowned, realizing he didn't know Yamato's phone number. He'd have to make sure he asked for it next week.

Taichi heard the door open and close, and Hikari called, "I'm home!"

"Welcome back," Taichi said, glancing at his sister.

"Are you free Sunday evening?" she asked, joining him on the couch.

Taichi thought for a moment. Sunday was the day before Monday. Monday was the day before Tuesday. Tuesday was the last day of the promise. "Yeah," he concluded. "I'm free then."

"Great!" Hikari said, grinning. "Could you come with me to help Takeru and his mom unpack? They're moving Sunday afternoon, but they won't get here until evening."

"I'd be glad to. But are you sure you wouldn't rather be alone with your boyfriend?" Taichi teased.

"I told you he's not my boyfriend!" Hikari insisted, poking him.

"Yeah, yeah…" Taichi said. "Now that he's gonna be living nearby, it's only a matter of time."

"Whatever," Hikari said, looking away. Taichi smirked when he noticed she was blushing. "Just make sure you stay free Sunday, okay?"

—

It was finally the last day.

It was Saturday, the last day of the promise, and Yamato was nervous. He'd been looking forward to the day, but… he was worried that Taichi had changed his mind. By now, Taichi had probably realized that everything was much easier without trying to be around Yamato. He'd probably realized that Yamato wasn't worth it. But even so, Yamato hoped he'd come.

Hours passed with no sign of Taichi. The shop was unusually busy, which Yamato found to be a mixed blessing. Without the customers, he would have spent the hours torturing himself silently, wondering whether or not Taichi would come. But because of the customers, he found his hopes getting dashed every time the door opened and someone _without_ bushy brown hair walked through it.

By closing time, Taichi still hadn't come. As Yamato made his way home, he tried to reassure himself that it wasn't a problem. Taichi was probably just busy. He would come tomorrow.

Sunday, though, Taichi still hadn't come, and Yamato bitterly reprimanded himself for getting his hopes up. People lived to disappoint, and Taichi was no different.

He should have known better.

—

Taichi glanced at the clock; it was still a few hours before the Takaishi family would arrive in Odaiba. Yamato would be leaving work right about now… He wished that he could have gone to talk to the blonde today, but the promise wasn't over quite yet. Taichi felt that Tuesday couldn't come soon enough.

He took Yamato's neatly wrapped present out of a drawer and put it on his desk. His mind was running through his plan for the belated birthday celebration, making sure he had everything he needed. Just two more days…

Taichi looked for something to occupy himself until it was time to go with Hikari to help Takeru move into his new home, and he eventually settled on watching _Digimon 02_ reruns. It was the first episode, and he smiled as he watched Davis's reaction to seeing Digimon. He'd known Motomiya Daisuke, whom Davis had been based on, back before he had moved to Odaiba. He was a great kid, but he didn't always know when to keep his mouth shut. That was why…

Taichi shook his head. No, what had happened wasn't Daisuke's fault. Taichi had gotten himself into trouble, plain and simple. He wouldn't let himself place the blame on someone else. It had been _his_ fault, and no one else's.

—

The phone was ringing.

Yamato glared at the evil machine that had dared to interrupt his brooding. A moment later, he realized the _phone_ was _actually_ ringing. No one ever called except for his boss, and he'd just returned from work… He eyed the phone suspiciously before answering it. "Hello?"

"We need to talk," a female voice on the other end said sternly. Yamato's mind ticked through the number of females who knew his telephone number and came up with a grand total of one. And the lady didn't _sound_ like Sora…

"Who is this?" Yamato asked.

"Your mother," the voice replied. Yamato nearly dropped the phone in shock. _His mother_ had actually called him? Had she finally seen the error of her ways? Was she going to let him move in with her and Takeru?

"Oh," he said as calmly as he could. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Pack your things. You're moving to Sapporo," she stated.

Yamato felt a grin spread across his face, and he was having a hard time stopping himself from jumping around the room out of excitement. _Dammit, I'm turning into Taichi_, he thought with a pang of regret, trying to calm himself down. He really didn't want to think of Taichi right now, and he had to make sure…

"Sapporo? Is that where you and Takeru live?" he asked, still grinning like an idiot.

His mother immediately replied, "No."

Yamato felt like he'd just been drenched with ice water. His smile vanished, and he was left feeling cold and incredibly alone. "…Then why am I moving there?" he asked slowly.

"Because I'm your mother, and I say so."

The emptiness inside of him was quickly filled with rage. Why had he let himself get his hopes up yet again? He should have _known_ by now that he'd only be let down!

"You're not my mother," he growled.

"Excuse me?" she snapped. She sounded rather offended… _Good._

"If you were my mother, you would have stuck around! You hardly even said two words to me at dad's funeral… You obviously don't want to have anything to do with me, so how can you call me and tell me to leave Odaiba and say that I have to because you're my _mother_?"

"If you recall, Yamato, I'm the one paying the rent on your apartment. And I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of moving. It's not like you've got any _friends_," she retorted, emphasizing the last word. Yamato narrowed his eyes, and rage overcame his senses.

"Then stop paying my rent! And I guess you wouldn't know since you're NOT HERE, but I HAVE FRIENDS!" Yamato yelled, slamming down the phone before she had a chance to respond. He glared at it for several minutes before his senses returned to him and he realized what he'd said. He had Koushirou and Sora, but… The person he had finally decided that he truly wanted as a friend, he'd driven away.

He slid to the ground, thankful for the first time in weeks that he was alone. It had been years since he'd last cried, but now the tears flowed freely down his face. His mother… Taichi… He had allowed himself to become vulnerable before them, and now he was paying for it.

The pain of it all was unbearable.

—

Takeru walked through the empty apartment, looking for his mom. The movers had finished packing the truck, and they needed to speak with her before they started driving to Odaiba.

"—to Sapporo," he heard as he approached the room that had been his mother's office. After a short pause, he heard his mother say, "No."

Takeru peeked into the room. His mom was talking on her cellphone, facing away from the door. He started to leave so that she could finish her call in private, but just as he was about to close the door, he heard her say, "Because I'm your mother, and I say so."

Takeru froze. "Your mother," she had said… Could that mean… Could she be talking to _Yamato_? Takeru left the door open just enough to hear what she was saying.

"Excuse me?" she asked sharply, followed by a rather lengthy pause. And then, "If you recall, Yamato, I'm the one paying the rent on your apartment. And I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of moving. It's not like you've got any _friends_."

She _was_ talking to Yamato! Eavesdropping on the conversation was the closest Takeru had been to his brother in years, but… he didn't understand what they were talking about. Mom was paying rent for Yamato and dad? Yamato was moving?

Takeru briefly heard a muffled sound that was probably his brother's voice; he must have been yelling rather loudly since Takeru could hear it from his place on the other side of the door. "Don't you dare hang up on me!" his mom said sharply. A short moment of silence passed, and Takeru heard the cellphone beep. His mom sighed.

Assuming the phone call had ended, Takeru knocked on the door to announce his presence; he definitely didn't want to be caught eavesdropping. "Mom?" he asked, opening the door. "The movers want to talk to you."

"Oh, thank you," she said softly, glancing back at him before checking her watch. Takeru noted that her eyes were slightly watery. "We should leave after I talk to them; we don't want to miss our train… Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Takeru replied, his mind replaying everything he'd heard as he attempted to figure it out. "I'm ready."

—

**Closing notes:** Don't kill me! (:hides:) At least I didn't end the chapter right after that last part with Yamato, ne? Um, leave a non-lethal review if you'd like, and I'll see you next chapter.


	8. Eighth Pieces: Change My Life

**Disclaimer:** Yes, I admit it, I own Digimon... in my dreams. I don't own the show, the characters, etc, etc. 

**Author's notes:**  
-First off, a huge **THANK YOU** to everyone who reviewed!  
-Sorry this chapter took so long... After tossing out two versions of the beginning of this chapter, I had a _massive_ case of writer's block. It's not fully passed yet, so I apologize if the quality of this chapter isn't consistant with that of previous chapters. -bows-  
-I know I said this last chapter, but... Digimon! Next chapter!  
-As a reminder, I'm using the American names when referring to the TV show of Digimon, and the Japanese names when referring to the "real people."  
-This's almost definately gonna have some Taito fluff... eventually. If you don't like male/male pairings, don't read it! Simple, ne?

--

**The Eighth Pieces: Change My Life**

"IT WORKS!" Koushirou shouted Monday morning, laughing. He fell silent soon afterwards, realizing that it was _very_ early in the morning; he didn't want to wake his parents. Picking up his cell phone, he dialed a number that had become all-too-familiar in the past month. He knew that the other programmer and his team wouldn't be asleep yet.

"Ken? It's me," he said when his call was answered.

"Please tell me you have good news; I don't think I can handle hearing about another problem right now," came Ichijouji Ken's voice.

"It works."

There was a long pause before Ken said, "This better not be a joke, Koushirou."

"It's no joke. I haven't been able to test the networking functions yet, but everything else runs perfectly now. I just finished uploading the files; I need you to run one of them so that we can finish testing."

"Running it now. What do you need to test for it?"

"Mainly just the search and sending/receiving messages. Tell it to find me."

"Done. Says it couldn't contact you."

Koushirou pressed a few keys, and the program started running.

"Again."

"Found you."

"Good; I got the report. Send me a message."

"Done."

A dialogue box popped up on the computer screen. "I see it. I'm sending a reply."

A short pause, and then, "Got it."

Koushirou sighed in relief. "We're done, Ken. We did it. Tell the black-box testers they better not find any problems this time."

Ken laughed. "It's better to find any problems now, though."

"Yeah, I know," Koushirou said. "But right now, I'm going to sleep. If something goes wrong, don't call me until evening, okay?"

"All right. Sleep well; you've earned it."

Koushirou shut off his cellphone and typed a few words. He smiled when he saw the reply on the screen, "Good night, Koushirou-han."

--

Yamato had a splitting headache. So when Sora greeted him cheerfully Monday morning, he did not smile, he did not return the greeting, he did not even look at her. He chose to ignore her in hopes she would go away and leave him to deal with his headache in peace and quiet.

Much to his displeasure, she repeated her greeting, more loudly this time.

Yamato glanced at her, not quite feeling like glaring, although he would have liked to. "What do you want?" he snapped.

Sora drew back slightly. "I just wanted to say good morning..." she replied, unsure of whether or not she should be defensive. Yamato smirked slightly when he saw she was confused.

"Well, you've said it. And now I will reply: it's morning, but there's nothing good about it. Can you leave now?"

"_Somebody's_ in a bad mood," Sora stated, the look of confusion disappearing from her face. "What happened?"

Yamato resisted rolling his eyes at her display of observational prowess, but he was secretly grateful that his mood was being lightened. "Yes, Sora, I'm in a bad mood. No, you cannot do anything to fix it, save for leaving me alone. And no, even if something happened, I will not tell you what it was."

Yamato scowled suddenly, as Taichi had chosen that moment to appear in the hallway. The brunette didn't seem to notice them, but Sora certainly noticed that Yamato's glare was directed at him. If Sora hadn't been there, Yamato wasn't sure he would have resisted the temptation to run down the hall and throttle the brunette.

Sora frowned. "Okay, so Taichi was involved. Sure you don't wanna share?"

Taichi disappeared into a classroom, and Yamato looked back at Sora. "I'd rather not talk about it," he sighed.

"C'mon, Mattie! Tell me!"

Yamato caved in slightly. "I just had a really bad weekend, all right? Now can you _please_ leave me alone?"

"And Taichi was the reason?"

Yamato winced. _There's no way I'm letting her know about that stupid promise... And I'd rather not talk about my mother, but..._ "Actually, it was because of my mother. She called me on Sunday."

"You talked to your mom?"

"'Argued with her' is more like it. Like I said, I really don't want to talk about it."

"Fine..." Sora conceded. "I won't ask about it any more. But if you want to tell me, I'm here for you, okay?"

Yamato smiled slightly. "Thanks, Sora."

--

_It's the last day. It's the last day, and Koushirou's not here, so please, PLEASE don't talk to me today, Sora,_ Taichi silently pleaded as he saw the redheaded girl appear at the far end of the hall. He quickly darted into a nearby classroom to hide, leaving the door open just wide enough that he could see outside. Taichi sighed in relief when he saw Sora pass by without stopping at the room, but he decided to remain in there for a while longer, just to be safe. He had already gotten his lunch out of his locker, so he could easily stay in the room until the lunch break ended.

Taichi smiled as he sat down at one of the desks. It was the last day.

Tomorrow, he finally could be with Yamato again.

--

Yamato couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned, his mind filled with all the things that needed to be done. Without his mother to pay the rent, he would need to work longer hours... maybe even get a second part-time job. He would need to find a new apartment. His current place wasn't expensive, but it would still be better to find one slightly cheaper. He had enough money in the bank to easily get through a few months, but... things were going to be tough from here on out.

When he finally drifted to sleep, Yamato had the dream again. Like last time, Taichi was standing with Takeru in the white world, but this time, he said nothing. He just watched Yamato with his deep, brown eyes as Yamato approached the boundary between the worlds and sat down. He watched Yamato talk to the young form of Takeru.

"Go away, Taichi," Yamato eventually commanded.

Taichi said nothing and made no move. He only watched, and waited.

--

Taichi awoke around four in the morning and found he was too excited to fall back asleep. It was _finally_ the day he could talk to Yamato again. He considered getting dressed and rushing over to Yamato's apartment immediately, but decided he didn't want to get on the blonde's parents' bad side by waking them so early. So instead, he decided to check that he had everything he needed for this afternoon.

Present? Already wrapped. Check.

Food? Check.

Movies? Definitely check.

Taichi wondered briefly what kinds of movies Yamato liked, but he decided that the blonde would surely be able to find something he enjoyed in the Yagami's extensive DVD collection.

Yamato? Not check. Taichi was going to be giving Yamato rather short notice about coming over, but... Well, he'd gotten to know Yamato's boss before they had made the promise, so it shouldn't be too hard to kidnap Yamato for the day if necessary. He had the store's number written down somewhere; he could call at lunchtime to request the afternoon off for Yamato.

The blonde had made him stay away for a whole month, so there was no way Taichi was going to let him escape now.

--

Taichi arrived at school very early and parked himself next to Yamato's locker to ensure he wouldn't miss talking to the blonde before class. He waited as the teachers arrived and smiled at him politely, secretly wondering why a student was there so early. He waited as the first few students filtered in, and he waited as the majority of the student body arrived. He waited as the latecomers rushed to get their books and head to their classrooms. When the bell rang to announce the start of first period, he couldn't wait any longer, and had to run to make it to class soon enough that the teacher wouldn't be angry. Once there, he slid into the seat next to Sora.

The second the teacher's back was turned, a piece of paper dropped onto his desk. "Is something wrong?" asked Sora's neat handwriting.

Taichi glanced at Sora and scribbled a reply, "Couldn't find Yamato. Have you seen him?" He slid the paper back onto Sora's desk.

A moment later, the paper returned to him. "Not since yesterday. He might be absent."

"Stupid Yamato," Taichi muttered. Reluctantly, Taichi admitted that Yamato being absent today of all days actually made a tiny bit of sense since he was free to speak to the blonde again. But if he thought that simply not showing up to school was going to stop Yagami Taichi, Yamato would find he was very, very wrong.

--

Yamato had decided that he wasn't going to school today. He didn't want to answer the questions that Sora was bound to have, he didn't want to hear Koushirou analyze what was going on, and he especially didn't want to see Taichi.

Around noon, someone knocked on his door, and Yamato answered it without considering who it might be. The second he saw the brown eyes and messy brown hair on the other side of the open door, he shut the door in the visitor's face.

"Yamato!" Taichi called, pounding on the door. "Open the door!"

_Why is Taichi here?_

"C'mon, Yamato!"

_Why now?_

"Yamato!"

The pounding stopped after a moment, and Yamato rested his forehead against the door. Several minutes passed in silence, and Yamato decided that Taichi must have left by now. "Why didn't you come?" he asked weakly.

"What do you mean?" Taichi asked. Yamato jumped slightly, surprised that the other boy hadn't already left.

"On Saturday," Yamato explained, cracking the door open just enough to see Taichi. "Why didn't you come? The promise was over."

Taichi looked puzzled. "What are you talking about? The promise ended today, didn't it?"

Yamato frowned. "Saturday had been four weeks."

"But... the promise was made on the fifth of last month. And today's the fifth again."

Yamato bit his lip, thinking. After a short moment, a brief, scornful laugh escaped his throat. "You know..." he said, "you're right... I didn't even think about the date. I... I really should have realized you're not that easy to get rid of..."

Taichi's expression turned to one of worry; Yamato's mask had fallen away the moment the brunette had arrived. "Yamato, is everything okay?"

Yamato looked at the ground. "...Thank you," he said softly.

"For what?"

Yamato took a deep breath and finally kissed goodbye to the lone wolf lifestyle he'd been leading before Taichi had stepped into his life. "For sticking around."

A grin spread across Taichi's face, and Yamato wondered briefly whether or not the brunette had any idea how hard it had been for him to admit that he was thankful for Taichi's presence. "Oh, hey, I almost forgot why I came over!" Taichi suddenly said. "You're coming over to my place at five tonight."

"That doesn't sound like a question," Yamato pointed out, smirking.

"That's 'cause it's not. You're coming no matter what. I'll drag you over if I have to," Taichi replied, his grin widening. Yamato was mildly surprised that it was possible to have a bigger grin than Taichi had already had, but he just smirked and shook his head. He was rapidly coming to believe that the brunette was capable of just about _anything_. After all, he had already accomplished the near-impossible task of melting Yamato's ice.

--

Yamato stood outside of the Yagami apartment, feeling completely, unreasonably nervous. He was ready to bolt any second; he just _knew_ that when he knocked on the door, Taichi would come outside and laugh at him for actually believing that he wanted to be Yamato's friend. The moment he knocked on the door, what little confidence he had would be shattered, and he would be left alone _again_. But now, after having had Taichi as a friend for even a short while, Yamato doubted he could survive alone any more.

So here he was, standing at Taichi's door, afraid. He didn't want it to find out it was just a joke, or perhaps a bet. He didn't want to lose Taichi.

Yamato was pulled from his thoughts by the sharp sound of an alarm going off inside of the apartment. Without thinking, he pounded on the door, silently cursing himself when he realized what he'd done.

"No, Hika, I'll get that!" Yamato heard Taichi shout, coughing. The door swung open moments later, revealing Taichi. "Hi Yamato!" he said cheerfully, grinning as widely as ever.

Yamato peered around the brunette. The apartment seemed unusually... cloudy. He sniffed the air delicately. "Something burning?" he asked. The high-pitched alarm was still sounding.

"No, of course not!" Taichi responded a bit too quickly, laughing nervously. He looked over his shoulder and shouted, "Hika, turn off that smoke alarm, would ya'?"

"Why'd you have me come over?" Yamato asked.

"Your birthday was in the middle of our promise, so I couldn't give you a present or anything. It's a bit late, but we're celebrating it today."

"How'd you know about my birthday?"

"Sora told me," Taichi said. He quickly added, "I didn't ask her about it; she just told me because she said you probably wouldn't. I didn't break the promise."

Yamato smiled slightly. "I don't care about that part of the promise any more," he said, avoiding Taichi's eyes. "Instead, promise me something else."

"Anything."

Yamato looked at the ground. "Don't leave me."

"I promise," Taichi said. The two stood in silence for a moment before Taichi shouted to his sister that he was leaving. He grabbed Yamato's hand and dragged him down the hall towards the elevator.

"Where're we going?" Yamato asked once they'd gotten inside. Taichi hit the button for ground floor.

"Out to eat!" Taichi declared before adding sheepishly, "I kinda ruined dinner..."

"That's what was burning?"

"...Yeah."

Yamato couldn't help but laugh. Taichi stared at Yamato in surprise. "So what else do you have planned?" he asked, trying to stifle his laughter.

"I'm giving you your present after dinner, and I was thinking that we could watch a movie after that..."

The elevator arrived at the first floor, and the doors opened. "Sounds good," Yamato decided, trying to ignore the pang of sadness he felt. _Burnt dinner, going out to eat, watching a movie afterwards... It's just like when dad was alive._

--

Taichi couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself for becoming Yamato's friend.

Bit by bit, Yamato's mask was falling away. At first, he was like the Yamato that Taichi had seen when he'd stayed the night when looking for Hikari, but the mask and ice walls didn't stop disappearing there. Throughout the course of dinner, Taichi had discovered that Yamato was quite simply the most amazing person he'd ever met. He was one of the few to realize that, too, as Yamato told him that he distanced himself so much to prevent getting hurt by people "again." Taichi wondered when Yamato had gotten hurt before, but he didn't ask. He wanted Yamato to have fun today, not to think about bad things that had happened in the past.

After dinner, they returned to Taichi's apartment, where he set Yamato loose in the Yagami DVD collection, telling him to find something to watch. While Yamato was looking, Taichi ran back to his room to get Yamato's present.

"Happy belated birthday!" Taichi said upon his return, approaching Yamato and holding out the gift. Yamato took it, nodding.

"Thanks, Taichi," he said, opening it carefully so that the wrapping paper wouldn't tear. Once the paper was gone, he stared at the CD in silence.

Taichi looked away nervously. "I hope you like it; I didn't know what else you liked other than music, so I wasn't too sure what to get you..." he started to say.

Taichi almost missed hearing Yamato whisper, "It's perfect."

Yamato looked up from the CD, excited. "Taichi, do you know how _hard_ it is to find this CD? They stopped printing it years ago!"

"Really? I had no idea..."

Yamato glanced at the CD again, grinning. "This is great! Their lead singer, Utai-san, is why I started singing..."

"You sing?" Taichi asked, curious. He figured that Yamato hadn't meant to tell him that, but he certainly wasn't going to let that bit of information slip away.

"A... a little," Yamato said, blushing slightly.

"Can you sing something for me? I wanna hear!"

Yamato's blush deepened from embarrassment. "I haven't sung in a long time, though... I'm probably not very good. You really don't want to hear it."

"No, no, I do! I want to hear!"

"Taichi..."

Taichi gave Yamato the best puppy-dog eyes he could manage. "C'mon, Yamato? Pleeeeaaaase?"

Yamato looked away. "...Fine. Just one song, though."

"Great! I think I've got some karaoke CDs around here..." Taichi said, heading for the CD rack. Before he could reach it, however, Yamato had already begun to sing.

Taichi instantly fell in love with Yamato's voice. The sound was deep, rich, and smooth, and followed the upbeat melody with such grace that one would think it was an angel singing. Taichi couldn't understand the words, but that didn't matter to him. All that mattered was the voice.

The song ended too soon for Taichi's liking, and Yamato looked at the ground, a deep blush coloring his face. "I... I know that wasn't very good... I haven't sung in a long time."

"Not good?" Taichi repeated. "Yamato, that was _amazing_! I've never heard anything like that before!"

"R-really?" he asked, looking up at Taichi.

"Yeah, really! I couldn't understand the words, but it was awesome!"

"I-I don't really understand the words too well, either, but Sora has a friend in America who translated it for me."

"Really? What's it about?"

Yamato was silent for a moment. "I kinda think it's about you and me," he said, pausing. "It's about how you tore down the walls I built around myself ever since my..."

Yamato stopped speaking abruptly, apparently unwilling to finish the thought. The two sat in an uncomfortable silence for a long while before Yamato finally spoke again, "Taichi?"

"Yes?"

Yamato hesitated; something seemed to be bothering him. "Taichi," he said again, "I want you to meet my dad."

"Okay," Taichi responded. He couldn't understand why Yamato was acting so oddly just because of that... He decided that there must be something else bothering the blonde, but he decided it was best not to ask. Yamato would tell him when he was ready.

Yamato stood up, a far-off look in his eyes. "Let's go right now. Sorry to disrupt your plans for tonight, but..."

"Don't worry about it," Taichi said, flashing his best smile. "The plans were just suggestions. It's your late birthday party, so we'll do whatever you want."

Yamato smiled sadly. "Thank you, Taichi."

They left the apartment in silence, Yamato leading the way. Taichi was confused when they passed Yamato's apartment complex, but he said nothing. Several minutes later, they passed a small flower shop.

"Taichi?" a girl's voice asked. "And Mattie? I was just closing up the shop, but what are you two doing out here?" They stopped walking and faced Sora. Yamato's expression was even more troubling that it had been before they'd left the apartment.

Yamato was the one to answer. "I'm taking Taichi to meet dad," he said softly.

Sora's expression changed to match Yamato's, leaving Taichi even more confused. "Mind if I come too?" she asked. Yamato nodded, and Sora disappeared into the flower shop. She returned a moment later, holding a small bouquet of flowers.

_I've got a bad feeling about this_, Taichi decided. Yamato began to lead again, and they soon arrived at a graveyard. They wove their way through the rows of graves until Yamato stopped at one of them.

"Dad," Yamato said to the gravestone. "I want you to meet Taichi."

Taichi was at a loss for words. "Yamato..." he eventually managed to whisper, "I'm so sorry..."

"It's been a little over a year since he died," Yamato explained. "He was on his way home from work, and there was an accident. He didn't last the night."

Sora quickly made eye contact with Yamato as if asking permission to speak, and Yamato gave her a small nod.

"Things have been harder for Mattie since Ishida-san died. He's been all alone since then..."

"What about his mom?"

Sora let out a scornful laugh. "Ha! She took his brother and walked out on them before I even met Mattie."

"SORA!" Yamato suddenly shouted. Sora's eyes widened and she clamped her hands over her mouth.

Taichi felt anger bubble up within him. "You mean you've been alone this whole time?" he demanded. "Your mother's gone and your father's dead?"

Yamato was silent for a moment, and Sora was muttering apologies to him over and over. "Yes," Yamato said bitterly. "That's right."

"Doesn't your mom know that he's dead? Shouldn't you be living with her now?"

Yamato laughed scornfully. "She knows, though I doubt she cares. She didn't say two words to me at the funeral; she just started sending me a check every month to cover my rent." Yamato sighed. "I guess I can't keep this from you guys forever. I talked to her this weekend. She wanted me to move to Sapporo, and I got kinda mad, and... Well, so that she couldn't make me move away, I sort of told her to stop paying my rent. I'm completely on my own from now on."

"Yamato..." Sora said softly, her eyes watering.

Taichi bit his lip, trying to prevent himself from speaking impulsively. He had never even met her before, but he _hated_ Yamato's mother. He hated her for leaving Yamato, he hated her for trying to force him to move away, he hated her for making him _need_ his icy defenses.

Shaking his head, Taichi threw caution to the wind. "You're better off without her help. What kind of mother would abandon her own child? You don't need her," he said bitterly, pausing. "But... what are you going to do now?"

Yamato looked at his father's grave again. "I've got enough money saved up to last for a little while. I'll find a cheaper apartment and a second job... I'll quit school if I need to."

"Don't do that," Taichi said softly. "Come live with us."

Yamato shook his head. "I... I can't impose on your family like that, Taichi."

"You said before that an empty home is a lonely place, Yamato. I know my parents wouldn't mind you moving in with us, so... just think about it, okay?"

"...Okay."

--

Yamato didn't even attempt to sleep that night. Leaning against his desk, he rocked his picture of Takeru back and forth. "What should I do?" he whispered at the picture.

The picture of Takeru's smiling face simply stared back at him silently.

--

_The school's gonna be talking about this for days_, Sora thought in amusement as she watched Yamato approach Taichi that morning, an uncharacteristic smile on his face. The fact that Yamato was smiling wasn't what was so unusual; it was the fact that the smile was _cheerful_. Sora was certain that almost no one at the school had ever seen Yamato with a smile that didn't fall into the category of "smirking." Already several of their fellow students had noticed Yamato's cheerfulness, and Sora noted with amusement that they weren't even trying to hide their shocked stares.

She closed her locker and headed for the two boys. Taichi grinned at Yamato, who gave the brunette a small wave as he headed away. Taichi noticed her approaching.

"Sora!" he called out, jogging towards her. A silly grin was plastered on his face. "Guess what? Yamato agreed! He's gonna be moving in after school today!"

Sora beamed at him. "That's great! You better take good care of him, Taichi."

"Yes sir, Captain Sora!" Taichi responded, saluting. Sora giggled at his antics. "I gotta get to class... See you at lunch!"

Taichi ran off hurriedly, and Sora watched him go. She was glad that Yamato wasn't going to be living along any longer, and she was _extremely_ glad that Yamato and Taichi were getting along so well now. But no matter how happy she was for them, she knew that there was another person who was going to be worried about them.

Koushirou was going to have a fit.

--

**Closing notes:** Once again, sorry this chapter took so long. Hopefully next chapter won't take nearly as long... I don't want to make you guys wait three and a half months ever again. Well, leave a review if you'd like, and I'll see you next chapter!


	9. Ninth Pieces: Free Will

**Disclaimer:** Yes, I admit it, I own Digimon... in my dreams. I don't own the show, the characters, etc, etc.

**Author's notes:**  
-First off, a huge **THANK YOU** to everyone who reviewed! Special thanks to ryuu-takahashi, who guilted me into finishing the chapter. -laugh-  
-Sincere apologies for how long this took. Massive writer's block. It's been horrible. I'm really going to try to update more quickly, but if things take too long... Guilting me into writing really seems to work!  
-As a reminder, I'm using the American names when referring to the TV show of Digimon, and the Japanese names when referring to the "real people."  
-This's almost definitely gonna have some Taito fluff... eventually. If you don't like male/male pairings, don't read it! Simple, ne?

--

**The Ninth Pieces: Free Will**

Koushirou paced back and forth across the computer lab. Sora sat at the far end of the lab, near the door, watching him.

"I really don't see what the problem is, Kou-chan," Sora said.

Koushirou's eyebrow twitched. All the frustrations of dealing with broken code just couldn't compare to the frustrations of dealing with people. People were difficult to predict. And just when you thought you had figured them out, they would come out with something new to surprise you with.

Like Taichi and Yamato becoming friends.

Like Yamato moving in with Taichi's family.

_Especially_ like Yamato moving in with Taichi's family.

Koushirou sighed and rubbed his temples. He could feel a headache coming on.

"I just know this is going to end in disaster," he muttered, racking his brain for a solution. Unfortunately, only two options were readily presenting themselves: he could warn Taichi about Yamato's dislike of _Digimon_, or he could stay out of the matter entirely. Neither option seemed to hold much appeal.

If he were to warn Taichi, the ever-curious brunette would inevitably want to know _why_ Yamato held the show in such poor regard. Yamato would not want to talk about it, but Taichi would press the matter. In the end, Taichi and Yamato would realize they were Tai and Matt, respectively. Chaos would ensue.

If he were to leave Taichi and Yamato to their own devices, there would be one of two outcomes. The first outcome would be that Taichi would find out about Yamato's dislike of the show on his own, and the result would be the same as if Koushirou had told him. The second outcome would be that without any curiosity on Taichi's part, their _Digimon_ identities would be revealed, likely at the worst possible time and in the worst possible way. Cue the chaos again.

Another solution formed in Koushirou's mind: he could warn _Yamato_. He could explain that Taichi was a huge fan of the show, and that it would be unwise to even mention its name. That, however, would likely dampen the newfound friendship between the two, and Sora's wrath would be pointed in his direction.

Koushirou frowned. That idea certainly didn't appeal at _all_.

He stopped his pacing and studied Sora from the corner of his eye. In the past, she had always proven herself to be a better judge of human behavior than he. She seemed to possess an insight that he lacked, allowing her to predict actions that always came as a surprise to him. All his predictions regarding Taichi and Yamato ended in disaster, but perhaps Sora saw a better outcome...

"What do you think?" he asked softly.

Sora blinked. "What?"

"Taichi and Yamato," Koushirou explained. "What do you think will happen? I can only see disaster."

Sora was silent for a long time. "I think it'll be okay," she said decisively. "Maybe they'll fight a bit—I'd be surprised if they didn't—but I think everything will turn out fine in the end."

"And when Yamato finds out that Taichi is Tai?"

"They'll be able to work it out."

Koushirou considered her words and sighed. He had decided: he would do nothing. "I hope you're right," he told Sora, "for their sakes."

--

"This is the last of it," Yamato said, walking out of the kitchen with a box in his arms.

Taichi turned to the pile of boxes he and Yamato had packed that afternoon. In truth, Yamato had done nearly all the packing; Taichi had been banned from helping after only one box. After that, he had stayed to watch Yamato pack, claiming to be there to keep the blonde company. By the time the second box had been packed, Taichi was declared to be a distraction and was forbidden from being in the same room as Yamato until all the packing was finished.

"Dad called while you were packing," Taichi declared. "He should be here in a few minutes."

Yamato nodded. "We can start carrying this stuff downstairs," he said. Balancing the box he held against his hip, he pointed to a box he knew held only clothes. "You can carry that box; I doubt even _you_ could break anything in it."

"Hey!" Taichi said indignantly as Yamato left the apartment. He grabbed the box and followed. "I'm not _that_ bad," he protested.

"Taichi," Yamato said as they entered the stairwell and began going downstairs, "you dropped my laptop. That doesn't make me very eager to hand you anything fragile."

"But I managed to catch it!" Taichi argued. "It didn't break!"

Yamato shook his head. "The fact you dropped it is enough. You're not touching _anything_ breakable."

Taichi fell silent, and Yamato glanced back to find him pouting. The blonde laughed, and a grin spread across Taichi's face. "So," the brunette asked, "how do you like your laptop? It's nice, isn't it? Hikari and I also have that kind."

"It's okay," Yamato said, frowning. "I don't use it much."

The laptop had been a present from the _Digimon_ producers at the end of the fourth series. Pineapple Corporation had been one of the show's biggest sponsors, and they'd given each of the chosen children one of their newest top-of-the-line laptops. Yamato had been tempted to either send it back or throw it off the roof of his apartment complex when he'd received it—the latter option had been particularly tempting—but his father had managed to convince him that it was a nice, free laptop that had no connections to _Digimon_ beyond the location it had shipped from. It didn't even have the Crest of Friendship plastered all over it like most other gifts he'd gotten from the producers—_anything_ with that crest on it had a history of becoming immediately acquainted with the trashcan. But as his dad had pointed out, there was absolutely nothing to tie it _Digimon_; it was simply a normal Pineapple computer.

Taichi and Yamato reached the curb. Taichi set down his box and waved to a middle-aged man. "Dad! Over here!"

The man approached the two boys. "Is this Yamato?" he asked, inspecting the blonde.

Yamato bowed deeply, still holding his box. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Yagami-san. I am in your care."

Yagami Susumu smiled and nodded approvingly. "I like you," he decided. "It's good to know my son actually has some polite friends." He took the box Yamato was carrying. "Let's get your things into the car. Hikari should be done changing rooms by now, so we can move you right in."

"Hikari moved into the empty room?" Taichi asked in surprise. "I thought we'd decided that was going to be Yamato's room."

He shrugged. "Hikari convinced your mother that she's getting to the age where she shouldn't have to share a room with her brother. If Yamato has a problem with it, we can move her back into your room..." he trailed off, looking at Yamato.

"It's no problem at all, sir," Yamato answered, bowing again slightly. "I'm just grateful that you've allowed me to move in with your family."

Susumu's smile turned into a grin, and he laughed a little. "Yep, I definitely like you, kid, even if you stop being this agreeable later on," he said, shaking his head slightly. "You boys go get the rest of the boxes, and I'll put these in the car."

Taichi and Yamato headed back inside, taking the elevator this time. Taichi had a smirk on his face. "That was certainly interesting, coming from Mr. Ishida Greeting," he said.

Yamato felt his cheeks turning pink. "Habit," he admitted. "I'm always polite to adults. The teachers at school adore me because of it, and they pity me because dad died. The two combined are what has let me get away with being an absolute jerk to the other students. Like that fistfight two months ago: I was the one who started it, but it got blamed on you. It's always like that." He laughed sardonically, and the words Taichi had said ran through his mind again. "Wait a minute—'Ishida greeting'?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Eheh..." Taichi laughed half-heartedly, glancing at Yamato sheepishly. "Don't think you'd care to let that pass, would you?"

"No way. What's the Ishida greeting?"

Taichi looked away. "You know... 'Who the hell are you, what are you doing talking to me, and why haven't you left yet? Leave now, lest my foot introduce your backside to next Tuesday'..." he explained. "Around school, it's apparently called the Ishida greeting."

Yamato started at him. "They've _named_ that?" he asked in surprise.

"...Yeah, kinda."

He stared at Taichi a moment longer before laughing. "I can't believe they call it that," he said. "What else don't I know about myself?"

The sheepish expression disappeared from Taichi's face, replaced by a grin. "You're know by various titles involving ice—usually 'god of ice' and 'iceman.' And you've got some fan clubs."

"Fan clubs? You're kidding, right? I'm mean to everyone at school!"

Taichi shrugged. "The girls—and some of the guys—think you're cool. I'd have to agree with them, but I have the especial honor of knowing what you're really like. Speaking of which, it sounds like you can get away with just about anything at school...?" he asked, trailing off. Yamato swore he could detect a trace of deviousness behind Taichi's innocent-looking grin.

"Why do I get the feeling that you're going to drag me into some hare-brained scheme of yours?"

"I'm devastated you would think that of me, my dear Yamato," Taichi said decisively. "My schemes are never hare-brained."

--

Standing outside of the Takaishi apartment, Hikari quickly smoothed her hair and clothes before knocking on the door. The door swung open a few seconds later, and she was greeted by Takeru's smiling face.

"Hikari!" he said cheerfully. "What're you doing here? Come in, come in!" Takeru stepped to the side, and she entered the apartment. He closed the door as Hikari slipped off her shoes.

"I hope you don't mind that I came over without calling first," Hikari said, following the blonde boy into the living room. The room was a mess; partially unpacked boxes and their contents were strewn across the floor as they waited to be moved to their rightful places. "A friend of Taichi's is moving in with us, and I was just going to be in the way at home. And if I were to help someone unpack, I think you need more help than them."

Takeru surveyed the room, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry about how messy it is," he said. "I've finished unpacking my things, but mom hasn't even had time to start. We've finished taking care of my transfer, though. I'll be in the same class as you starting tomorrow."

"Great!" Hikari said cheerfully, grinning. "You know, I'm thinking that moving to Odaiba is the best thing that's ever happened. And to think Taichi was so reluctant to move here... But now you and I have been reunited, and he has real friends again."

"Taichi's friend... the one you said was moving in with you. Why is he?"

Hikari looked at the floor. "I don't know all the details," she said, "but from what I managed to hear from Taichi, his father died and his mother abandoned him. He's been living alone since his father's death. Taichi found out and asked mom and dad to let him live with us."

Takeru was silent, a slightly pained expression on his face. Hikari immediately wished she hadn't told him about Yamato's situation. She knew that his parents' divorce still pained him greatly... If his mother were to die, he'd be in the same situation as Yamato.

_No_, Hikari told herself firmly, _it would be different. Takeru has told me about his dad before. He wouldn't abandon Takeru the way Yamato's mother abandoned him._

"That's terrible," Takeru said softly after a long moment of silence, "but I'm glad they won't be alone any more."

Hikari wondered for a moment what Takeru meant, before realizing that he meant both Yamato _and_ Taichi. She smiled sadly.

"Yeah," she agreed. "I'm glad, too."

--

For the first time since his parents' divorce, Yamato awoke in an unfamiliar room, lying in an unfamiliar bed, and staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.

Yamato had never liked unfamiliarity. He liked routines. He liked predictability. He liked absolutes. He didn't like uncertainties, but ever since Taichi fought his way into his life, he found he couldn't be certain of anything.

And he was starting to like that.

Taichi was constantly surprising him, and whenever he was with Taichi, he had been surprising _himself_. Taichi was uncovering a side of himself that he hadn't been in years, ever since Takeru had been taken away. Until Taichi, he hadn't even noticed that he'd changed. He could never return to the Yamato he used to be, however... not entirely.

People like Takeru and Taichi were the light, illuminating all that surrounded them, bringing out the best in people. Yamato was darkness. Divorce, death, despair... he had been hurt too deeply by these things. Taichi could bring out the best in him, but he could not rid him of the darkness. The shadows would remain, dim and indistinct, but always there.

Yamato sighed and rolled onto his side, only to be startled by a pair of dark eyes staring at him.

"Mornin', Yamato," Taichi said. Yamato could only see Taichi's eyes and hair as his head poked above the bed, but he was certain the brunette was grinning.

"What time is it?" Yamato asked, sitting up.

"Around five," Taichi replied, hopping off the ladder he had been standing on.

Yamato climbed down from the upper bunk that had once been Hikari's bed. "And here I figured you were the oversleeping type."

"I am," Taichi explained, "or so Hikari says, anyway. I was too excited to sleep, though. I woke up hours ago."

"Excited? About what?"

"About you, of course! I'm really glad you agreed to move in with us."

"I'm glad, too. I hadn't noticed until now how tired I was of being alone," Yamato said, a small smile appearing on his face. "But everything's going to be better from now on, right?"

Taichi's grin widened. "Right!"

--

Taichi sat at the kitchen table, his chin resting against his arms, watching Yamato. After they had gotten dressed, Taichi had complained that he was hungry, and Yamato had volunteered to make breakfast. Taichi seized the offer gladly; Yamato's cooking was a very welcome change from his mother's usual charred attempts at toast.

It also gave him a chance to watch Yamato, and he _liked_ watching Yamato.

He had, at first, been drawn to Yamato's good looks, but that was just why he decided he wanted to meet the blonde, to see what he was like. But even now that they were friends, Yamato still fascinated him...

"Do I smell breakfast?" Susumu asked, straightening his tie as he and his wife entered the kitchen. Hikari bounded in after them.

"Taichi and I woke up early, so I thought I'd cook for everyone," Yamato said, carrying serving plates to the table. "I hope you don't mind."

"Of course we don't mind!" Hikari said, sitting down next to her brother. "This looks great, Yamato!"

Taichi watched Hikari and his parents eat. "Yamato and I are going to head to school," he eventually said, standing up.

Hikari stared at her brother in shock. "You're not going to eat?"

"We already did," Yamato explained. "When I said we woke up early... I meant very early."

"I'm surprised you didn't get up early, too," Taichi teased. "Isn't your boyfriend starting at your school today?"

Yamato raised an eyebrow. "Boyfriend?"

Hikari turned a deep shade of red. "He's not my boyfriend," she mumbled in protest. "But yes, he's transferring today." She quickly finished her breakfast and stood up. "We're walking to school together; I'm going to head over there," she said, trying to ignore Taichi's knowing grin.

Taichi and Yamato followed Hikari out of the apartment, but they went their separate ways as soon as they reached the street. Taichi's grin never left his face.

"Still excited?" Yamato questioned.

"Of course! We're gonna be good friends, Yamato," Taichi declared, skipping forward a few steps. He turned to face Yamato and started walking backwards. "You might not believe this, but you'll be the first close friend I've had in a long time. Well, besides Sora, I guess, but I hadn't seen her since I was like eleven, and things change, you know? I'm not saying that Sora's not a close friend still, but it's different than when we were kids. You and I, however, are gonna be the best of friends, because it's—"

"Taichi," Yamato interrupted. "Shut up for a minute."

"Okay," the brunette said sheepishly. He stopped walking backwards and fell into step next to Yamato again.

"You're right, though," Yamato said, grinning for the first time Taichi had seen. "We're gonna be best friends."

--

Sora couldn't resist laughing when Taichi and Yamato appeared at school together. The cheerful Yamato from yesterday had already set the school abuzz, but most of the people who hadn't been there in person had doubted it had really happened. Sora predicted that the whole school was going to be keeping a close eye on Yamato at lunch.

Her prediction was correct. The cafeteria was unusually full and even more unusually silent when the lunch break came. A quick scan around the room was enough to confirm that just about everyone was watching Yamato and Taichi, even though most of them were trying their best to not make it _look_ like they were watching the two. Yamato and Taichi left the cafeteria early—for reasons that Taichi refused to disclose, and that Yamato didn't seem to know—and the room came alive the second the doors closed behind them. Sora leaned back in her chair and smiled.

Koushirou sighed. "You're loving this, aren't you?" he asked.

"Of course!" she said, leaning back just a little bit farther in order to better hear the nearest rumors. "And Mimi's demanded a full rumor report, you know. She's never even met Taichi, but as soon as I told her about what's been happening here, she insisted I keep her informed."

"I still think this is only going to make things worse later on," Koushirou insisted. "Things were better before Taichi came here."

Sora jumped up, slamming her hands on the table. "_Don't say that!_" she shouted. "Don't you _dare_ say that things were better before! We both agreed that it hurt to see Yamato shut himself off completely... How can you possibly say that 'things were better off' when he was like that?"

Koushirou glared at her. "You don't get it, Sora!" he replied, raising his voice but preventing himself from shouting. "Yamato's better like this, yes, but they're just setting themselves up to be hurt!"

"No, they're not! And even if they are, they won't _stay_ hurt. Have some faith in them, Koushirou! They're not programmed to act a certain way; they're _people_, not your machines!"

Koushirou shot Sora a scathing look and stood, leaving the cafeteria silently. Sora sank back into her chair, raking her fingers through her red hair. "Dammit," she hissed, biting back tears.

--

"Takeru!" Hikari called, waving to Takeru as she ran to join him at his locker.

Takeru shut the locker as Hikari approached. "Hey Hikari!"

Hikari smiled. "So, how was your first day?"

"Pretty good," he replied, returning her smile. "I had hoped I'd be in more classes with you, but half isn't too bad."

"So, ready to go home?"

"Ah... not quite," Takeru said, the smile disappearing from his face. "I, uh, told mom I'd be at your place for a little while after school, but there's somewhere I need to go." He pulled out a worn-out piece of paper and handed it to her. "It's been a long time since I last lived here, so I can't quite remember where this is. Do you know?"

Hikari looked at the paper; it was an address, written in a child's handwriting. "Yeah, I know this building. Is this...?"

"Where I used to live, yes. It's a long shot, but..."

Hikari nodded. "I understand, Takeru. Don't worry; we'll find your dad. C'mon, let's go."

Hikari and Takeru left the school, and began walking towards the apartment complex from the note. Takeru's spirits continually improved along the way as he remembered places from his childhood. By the time they reached the complex, however, his mood had become somber again.

"I... I can't go in after all, Hikari. I mean, what if..."

Hikari pushed Takeru inside. "Sure, maybe he doesn't live here any more, but you won't find out by standing out here," she said, walking to the elevators and pressing the button. "Do you want me to come upstairs with you?"

Takeru took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "No... Will you wait here for me, though?"

"Of course I will!" Hikari assured him, smiling as the elevator arrived. Takeru weakly returned her smile as he stepped inside. The doors slid closed, and he shakily pressed a button.

"Seventh floor," he whispered to himself. The doors opened upon arrival at the floor, and he stepped out. "Apartment number 718."

He started walking down the hall, and arrived at the room after what felt like hours. Staring at the door, he raised his fist to knock...

"If you're looking for Yamato, you won't find him here," a voice said, startling Takeru. He turned to find a nice-looking elderly woman smiling at him. "He moved out yesterday. Are you a friend of his?"

"Something like that... but I haven't seen him in a long time," Takeru said, biting his lip. "Do you know where he went?"

She shook her head. "I already asked the landlord; Yamato didn't leave his new address yet. I can tell you where he works, though."

"Please," Takeru said.

"Let's see, where was it..." the lady murmured, thinking. "Oh yes! It's a little music store in the western shopping district. I think he said it was called 'Song for You.'"

Takeru bowed. "Thank you."

The woman smiled at him. "If you find him, tell him that he owes Tanaka a visit."

"I will. Thank you again." He bowed a second time before heading downstairs. Hikari looked at him hopefully as he stepped off the elevator. He shook his head. "No luck, but I've got a lead. I ought to head home for today, though; I don't want mom to suspect anything."

Hikari nodded. "You'll meet him again sooner or later, Takeru," she said reassuringly. "I'm sure of it."

--

Koushirou slowly walked to his room upon his arrival at home. His parents were out, so the place was silent save for the gentle hum of his computers. He set down his backpack and slid into the chair of the workstation he'd been at almost constantly during his time at home for the past month. He pushed away the computer's keyboard to make room for another computer, a white and yellow laptop.

He searched through a drawer as the laptop booted up, looking for the CD his most recent project had been stored on. Upon locating it, he loaded the program onto the laptop.

"Hello Koushirou-han," the program greeted.

Koushirou smiled. 'Hello Tentomon,' he typed in reply.

"Did you just return from school?"

'Yes.'

"How was your day?"

Koushirou frowned, considering the question. 'I had a fight with Sora,' he eventually typed.

"That's no good. What were you fighting about?" Tentomon asked.

'We both said things we shouldn't have. I'd rather not talk about it,' Koushirou typed. 'But could you tell Biyomon to let Sora know I'm sorry?'

"I wish I could, but Biyomon doesn't seem to be connected to the network."

'I know. Just tell Biyomon when you can, okay?'

"All right, Koushirou-han."

"I just hope I'll be sorry by then..." Koushirou said softly.

--

**Closing notes:** Apologies again for the time between this chapter and the previous one... Here's hoping I'm over that bout of writer's block for good!


	10. Tenth Pieces: Sooner or Later

**Disclaimer:** Yes, I admit it, I own Digimon... in my dreams. I don't own the show, the characters, etc, etc.

**Author's notes:**  
-Okay, this one is a bit important: **as of 8/27/06**, this chapter was reposted, with expansions across the board, ranging from minor to major (well, not _plot-changing major_, but lengthy and insightful). Major thanks and kudos to Johin for helping me figure out the problems with the originally-posted version.  
-A huge **THANK YOU** to everyone who reviewed! Special thanks to Johin and Adam for guilting me into finishing!  
-This was officially the hardest chapter of this story to write thus far, even though I wasn't being plagued by writers block. No, instead, I had three to four different versions of the chapter. Each version had things I liked and things I didn't like, but the series of events were too wildly different to combine into a single version. I eventually settled on the current version because it provided the best setup for future events... but I still hope that the events covered in this chapter are up to everyone's expectations!  
-As a reminder, I'm using the American names when referring to the TV show of Digimon, and the Japanese names when referring to the "real people."  
-This is it. The deciding moment. I had to make the official decision this chapter, and this is the result: this story has Taito. No lemon/lime, but there will be fluff. So if you don't like male/male pairings, don't read it! Simple, ne?

--

**The Tenth Pieces: Sooner or Later**

Yamato really wasn't sure how he'd gotten himself into this predicament. All he'd wanted to do was to spend Sunday morning watching something in peace, preferably something he hadn't seen before. But, it seemed, "Taichi" and "peace" did not go together.

That alone didn't quite explain his current situation, though. Maybe it was because he hadn't realized just how hyper Taichi could be. Maybe it was because he'd trusted the brunette to leave him alone rather than sneak up on him and shout a cheerful "GOOD MORNING YAMATO!" Maybe it was because even after that greeting, he had still underestimated the other boy's energy, resulting in a flying tackle that nearly knocked him off the couch, followed by Taichi rather forcibly trying to discover if Yamato was ticklish.

Taichi had been _extremely_ pleased to discover that yes, he was. Yamato's sides hurt terribly from laughing by the time Taichi released him from his clutches. Now, Taichi was casually draped over Yamato, as he seemed determined to not only take up the entire couch, but to melt into it as well. And Yamato still hadn't found anything to watch.

"Hey, go back a channel!" Taichi said, his head poking up as Yamato channel surfed. Yamato obeyed.

"Infomercials?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow at Taichi.

"One more," Taichi defended.

Yamato laughed softly and hit the button again. His laugh died out and he frowned at what he was now faced with.

"All right! I love this episode!" Taichi exclaimed, sitting up.

"You're a _Digimon_ fan?" Yamato asked, trying to keep the dislike out of his voice. He didn't want to exactly insult the show if Taichi was a fan, but even so…

"Kind of," Taichi replied. "You?"

"Never really got into it," he said flatly, glancing at the TV. The episode was from the second series, and though he was relieved that it wasn't an episode with Matt in it, seeing "TK" on the screen hurt.

_Well, it's better than not seeing him at all_, Yamato decided, reconciling himself to watching the episode. After a minute, he realized that Taichi had been speaking to him.

"…at first, but it's kinda cool after a while. I really like _02_, but _Adventure_ just kinda holds a special place in my heart, you know?" Taichi frowned at the screen. "I kinda wish this were one of the episodes with Matt. I liked his appearances in _02_."

For Taichi's sake, Yamato _really_ did his best to not scowl. "What's so good about _him_?"

Taichi shrugged. "I've just always liked him," he said casually. He looked at Yamato and smiled. "You know, if I had to label you as a _Digimon_ character, it'd be him."

Yamato narrowed his eyes. Taichi was starting to tread on thin ice… "_Why_?"

"I don't know. You're just like him, somehow," Taichi admitted, his eyes returning to the television. "You sing better, though."

Yamato's mood lightened, and he let a small smile appear on his face. He had quickly turned down the offer to voice his own character, but he had never quite liked the voice they'd used for Matt. "You're Tai, then," he said smoothly. "You both have the same taste in hairstyles… if you can even call that mess a style."

"Hey!" Taichi protested. "You're just jealous that your hair… uh… um…"

Yamato smirked. "That my hair _what_?"

"…That your hair doesn't have as much character!" Taichi concluded.

"_Character_?" Yamato laughed.

Taichi grinned at the blonde. "Yeah. Character."

Yamato recognized something dangerous in that grin of Taichi's. He started to scoot towards the edge of the couch, but he hadn't moved soon enough to escape Taichi's lunge. Taichi's hand shot to Yamato's scalp, ruffling the blonde hair.

"HEY!" Yamato shouted, trying to free himself from the brunette, smooth his hair out, and stop laughing. All of his attempts proved to be futile, as once Yamato had managed to pry Taichi's hand away from his hair, the other boy had decided that it was a perfect time to resume tickling him.

Ever since he could remember, Yamato had always been happiest when he could live a quiet life with his family—with both parents and his brother at first, and later with just his father. Friends in general had always been foreign to him; even those he called friends were never close, not like this. People were wary of him; they never got close even if they wanted to, and he never _let_ them get close. That there were people like Taichi, that he could have ended up so close to someone like him so quickly… it was all new to him, yet it felt like forever.

It was a different kind of happiness than he'd ever known before, and he couldn't imagine a life without it any more. He couldn't image a life without Taichi, and the thought suddenly scared him as he gasped for breath.

He was vulnerable now. He could break.

…But no, it would be okay. After all, Taichi had promised.

--

"I just don't know what to do, Hikari! Kou-chan hasn't talked to me at all since last week!"

Hikari was sitting on her bed, watching Sora pace. "You said you two had a fight, right? Have you told him you're sorry?"

Sora sank into the chair at Hikari's desk. "I've tried to, but he won't let me get close enough! Every time I try to approach him, he… he runs away!" she explained, burying her head in her hands.

Hikari crossed the room to where Sora sat and knelt down, putting a comforting hand on the older girl's shoulder. "I really wish I could offer some better advice, Sora. Maybe… he just needs time to cool off."

"M-maybe…"

Hikari frowned. "That's not all that's bothering you, is it?"

Sora shook her head. "No, that's it, but…" she said shakily. "It's just that we've _never_ fought before. Kou-chan is always so calm and… and _calculating_ that I never thought he… I really _hurt_ him, Hikari, and he won't even let me apologize…"

Hikari looked at her friend in concern, but was unsure of what to say. There was a knock on the door, and Sora quickly turned away from it, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Come in," Hikari said softly, standing up. Taichi poked his head into the room.

"Yamato and I are going shopping," he said. "Need anything while we're out?"

"No, but…" Hikari said, raising an eyebrow, "you're going _shopping_? You hate shopping!"

"I only hate shopping with _girls_," Tai defended. "You take too long." He pulled the door closed before she could protest. "Later Hika!" he called through the door.

Hikari shook her head and turned back to Sora. "You gonna be okay?"

Sora nodded and forced a smile. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"…Are you sure?"

"Of course!" Sora sprung to her feet and took a deep breath. She exhaled it quickly and her expression brightened into a real smile. "C'mon, let's do something _fun_, without the boys around to bother us."

"Or to tell us to hurry up, right?" Hikari replied, grinning.

"Right. Shopping?"

"Shopping."

--

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Yamato complained as Taichi plopped into the bus seat next to him.

"Why not? You said you wanted a guitar, and you can certainly afford it now that you're living with us."

"And that's another thing!" he continued. "Why aren't your parents letting me pay rent? Why did I have to quit my job? I can carry my own weight, Taichi, but nobody's letting me any more!"

Taichi laughed. "How 'bout you share the load for once, Yamato? You've been carrying it on your own for too long."

Yamato frowned and looked out the bus window, trying his best to ignore Taichi.

"How about this, then?" the brunette proposed, grinning despite his worry that he'd somehow upset his friend. "I hereby decree that Yamato has to pay an admission fee to get back into our apartment, and that fee is a song on a guitar. Which means Yamato _must_ buy a guitar today… unless he likes sleeping outside."

Yamato continued to stare out of the window, muttering something that sounded a lot like "I hate you, Taichi."

Taichi simply laughed again, relieved by the ghost of a smile that was tugging on Yamato's lips. "Love you too," he replied smugly, leaning back in his seat and watching the blonde out of the corner of his eye. He _loved_ the moments like these, when Yamato came close to being playful, when he would tease Yamato and the blonde would actually tease him back. There were more and more of these moments as the days passed… and as Taichi felt his way through learning _exactly_ what would get a rise out of his often-quiet friend. Yamato had a _wicked_ sense of humor whenever he loosened up, Taichi had found, but it was rather rusty from lack of use; it often seemed that Yamato would _almost_ say something when they were joking around, but then second-guess himself and remain quiet. Taichi fully intended to get Yamato to stop hesitating; with the blonde this far out of his protective shell already, it would be a shame not to finish the job, so to speak.

Taichi was pulled from his thoughts by Yamato's voice. "You're being unusually quiet. Last time we rode a bus together, you were trying to talk my ear off."

Taichi turned to Yamato and grinned. "What about the time I was unconscious?"

"Boss has a car; he gave us a lift. If I'd had to take you home by bus, I probably would've just left you unconscious outside the store."

"Gee thanks," Tai said, sticking his tongue out at the blonde. "I'll have to thank him, then. I was actually getting a little discouraged before you helped me out that day."

Yamato turned towards Taichi, looking absolutely horrified. "You mean I could've been rid of you for _good_? My own kindness worked against me?"

"I said 'a little'!" Taichi protested. Yamato's horrified expression instantly vanished as he started to laugh. Taichi smiled at the sound of Yamato's laughter.

The bus approached their stop. "I'll have to thank him, too," Yamato said as he and Taichi got off the bus, serious again. "He's really done a lot for me this past year."

Taichi couldn't decide on anything to say, so he just grabbed Yamato's hand and pulled him towards the music shop. They arrived minutes later, and Taichi released Yamato's hand, pushing him in the direction of the guitars. Yamato glanced back at Taichi, but the brunette was already heading for the counter. He sighed and headed into the back of the store.

The man at the counter looked up. "Oh, hello Taichi-kun."

Taichi grinned. "Hello!" he greeted happily. He'd always liked Yamato's boss; there was just something he found agreeable about the man… Of course, it had probably helped that the man had been happy to provide Taichi with a copy of Yamato's work schedule when he'd begun his quest to befriend the blonde.

"How have you been? And how has Yamato been doing?" he inquired with a smile.

"Never been better!" Taichi replied. "And Yamato…"

"I'm here, boss," Yamato called from the back of the store. A moment later he returned to the front of the store, carrying a red and white guitar with yellow accents. "I… I want to buy this."

"Take it," the middle-aged man replied. "I don't want your money, Yamato-kun."

"But… I…" Yamato started, looking down.

"Consider it a farewell present, if you'd like; I was the one who made you quit, after all. You just have to promise to stop by every now and then and let me hear you play."

Yamato was silent for a long moment before he suddenly bowed. "Thank you," he said. "Not just for this, but for everything. You didn't have to let me work here, but you did. You've done so much for me, and I never thanked you properly. So… thank you." He straightened, smiling.

His former boss returned the smile. "You're welcome," he said softly.

--

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, he found the store.

It had taken Takeru and Hikari over a week of searching the shopping district, but Takeru had finally found the music shop that Tanaka had said Yamato worked at. They had searched that street several times before finding it; the tiny shop had flashy clothing stores on either side of it and its sign was faded, so he could understand why they'd always overlooked it.

Takeru had found it by chance, actually. Hikari hadn't been able to come—she'd said something about a girl named Sora—leaving Takeru to search alone. He had almost given up for the day when he spotted three teens carrying bags labeled with the shop's name. He'd approached them and asked where the store was, and they happily escorted him there, saying it was too easy to miss unless you'd been there before.

The other boys were gone now, and Takeru was standing outside of the shop, almost too nervous to go in. _Almost_.

With a shaking hand, he opened the door and stepped inside. "Welcome!" the middle-aged man at the counter greeted, looking up at him.

Takeru approached the counter. "Um… I was told that Ishida Yamato works here…?"

"He did," the man replied, "but not any more. I asked him to quit last week."

Takeru frowned. He was getting closer and closer to Yamato; he couldn't let this be a dead end… "I… I see…" he said softly, then asked in a voice he prayed didn't sound _too_ desperate, "Would you happen to know where I could find him?"

The man smiled at him, with a look in his eyes that could have been realization. "I'll get his address for you," he said, setting aside the papers he'd been poring over. The man disappeared into the back of the store, and Takeru shifted his weight from foot to foot nervously. He returned a moment later, holding a small slip of paper. He held it out for Takeru to take. "Looks like he didn't leave the apartment number; just the building name. I don't know the phone number for his new place, either… He stopped by earlier, but you missed him by about an hour. Sorry I couldn't be of more help."

Takeru accepted the paper, glancing at the name. It seemed familiar… "No, this is very helpful. Thank you," he said, bowing slightly.

He turned to head out of the store, but the man called out, "You're Takaishi Takeru, aren't you?"

Takeru glanced back at the man. "Yes…?" he answered, somewhat questioningly. How did the shopkeeper know his name…?

"Yamato-kun always liked to talk about you. I hope you find him."

A smile spread across Takeru's face at the mention of his brother. "So do I," he replied before stepping out the door.

As he headed for the nearest bus stop, the smile wavered and Takeru let out a sigh. He had come _so close_ this time, but his brother was proving more elusive than he had hoped… But Yamato hadn't forgotten him. The thought was encouraging, and Takeru smiled again. There wasn't much more he could do today; he would go home, call Hikari to inform her of the day's progress, and look up the location of the apartment building. He hadn't found Yamato yet, but it was good progress.

"Hey, Takeru!" a voice called, pulling him from his thoughts. He turned around to find himself face to face with Hikari. An older, redheaded girl was standing a few feet away. "Any luck with the store?"

"I found it," Takeru said, "but he doesn't work there any more. I got the name of the apartment building he's in now, though…"

He held out the paper for Hikari. She took it and frowned upon seeing the name. "This is our building," she stated.

"Who's this, Hikari?" the redhead questioned, coming closer to the two. She grinned. "Your _boyfriend_? Oh, I bet he's the one Taichi has been teasing you about!"

Hikari and Takeru blushed. "H-he's a friend of mine. Uh, Takeru, this is Sora. Sora, meet Takeru. He just moved back to Odaiba, and I've been helping him try to find his family."

At the mention of Takeru's name, Sora's grin disappeared, and she frowned a little, studying him carefully. "Takeru?" she asked hesitantly. "_Takaishi_ Takeru?"

Takeru nodded. "That's right."

She closed her eyes and let out a long breath. Snapping her eyes back open, she declared, "We've gotta get you to Mattie."

"Mattie?" Takeru asked, confused. A suspicion formed in his mind… "You mean… Do you mean Ishida Yamato? You know him?"

"I've been his friend for years; he's told me all about you." She smiled wryly. "Well, I guess that's not so accurate. He didn't exactly volunteer the information, but I saw a picture of the two of you once, and I refused to leave him alone until he spilled."

Hikari's puzzled look turned to realization. "Wait a minute, are you saying that… _Yamato_ is Takeru's brother?" She looked at the paper again, staring at the name of the apartment building. "Well, I guess that explains the building…"

"You know him too, Hikari?"

Hikari nodded slowly. "He's Taichi's friend, the one who…" she said, looking towards Sora. Sora shook her head, and Hikari quickly fell silent.

"Taichi and Yamato should be back by now," Sora said, glancing at her watch.

"Can you come over, Takeru?" Hikari asked. "Your mom…"

"She's said she'd be at work all day," Takeru said. "And even if she's back by now, I don't care. I want to see him."

Sora smiled at Takeru. "I know it's been a long time, but you'll see each other soon."

--

Upon returning home, Taichi had plopped onto the couch and hadn't moved since. Yamato had taken his new guitar to their room and then disappeared somewhere—to the kitchen, Taichi wagered, as the smell of food wafted towards him. He grinned and jumped off the couch, heading for Yamato.

"I love you," Taichi announced upon his arrival in the kitchen.

Yamato laughed. "Only for my food," he replied with a smirk. "I figured you'd be getting hungry around now. Your parents said they'd be eating out tonight, so I'll make something for Hikari once she gets home."

Yamato had become the unofficial Yagami family cook; Yuuko had only cooked once since the blonde had come to live with them. After that experience, Yamato had quickly volunteered to cook for the family since they had already refused to let him pay rent. Yuuko had hesitated, but Taichi, Hikari, and Susumu had insisted. Those three members of Yagami family had quietly rejoiced when Yuuko had finally agreed to Yamato's request—she wasn't a bad cook in her own right, but she had an unfortunate love of experimentation.

Taichi smiled to himself at the memory and sat down at the table, waiting for Yamato to finish cooking. "By the way, I never got that song you promised me."

"I never promised it," Yamato said in reply, setting their food onto the table. He slid into the seat across from Taichi. "I'll play something for you later. Why are you so enthusiastic about this guitar thing, anyway? I didn't even mention wanting one until this morning, and next thing I know, we're on our way to the store."

Taichi grinned sheepishly. "Actually… I know a couple of guys who are in a band. They lost their singer a while ago, and I promised that I'd let them know if I found anyone good… So, well, I guess I was kinda wondering if you're be interested…" Taichi explained, staring at his plate. After a pause, he began to eat. Yamato stared at him silently. A few minutes later, Taichi finally noticed his stare and looked up. "Yamato?"

"…A band?" Yamato questioned.

"Yeah."

"…Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Interested?"

"…Are you _crazy_?"

Taichi blinked, surprised. That wasn't exactly the reaction he'd been expecting… "Huh?"

"I can't be in a band! I… I'm not nearly good enough!" Yamato choked out.

Taichi sighed. Yamato either had a really strong sense of modesty, or he simply didn't realize how talented he was… "Yes you are. You're a great singer, Yamato, and if you're even half as good at the guitar as you are at singing, they'll love you."

"But, I—"

"Yamato!" a girl's voice called; Taichi recognized it as Sora's. There was a shuffling of feet, and Sora appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, pushing forward a blonde boy wearing a bucket hat. Taichi looked at Takeru and Sora in confusion; Hikari was hovering nervously behind them.

"…Ta…keru?" Yamato whispered. Taichi looked back at Yamato, who looked as if he'd seen a ghost. He blinked, and was out of his seat instantly, his arms wrapped around Takeru in a tight embrace. Taichi felt a twinge of _something_ that he couldn't quite identify as he looked at the two.

"Takeru," Yamato said. "I've missed you so much!"

Takeru cautiously returned Yamato's hug. "I've missed you too, oniisan."

Taichi frowned. Takeru was Yamato's brother? That would certainly explain the hug… The odd twinge inside of Taichi suddenly grew into something he thought he knew, but…

…But why did he feel a bit… _jealous_?

--

**Closing notes:** It's a bit shorter than recent chapters, but the end of Taichi's section presented itself as a good stopping point. But! I've already started on the next chapter, so you'll see that one before too long! Anyway, you know the drill, leave a review if you'd like, and I'll see you next chapter!


	11. Eleventh Pieces: Playing for Keeps

**Disclaimer:** Digimon wasn't mine ten chapters ago, and it still isn't. Oh well.

**Author's notes:**  
-This chapter is dedicated to Johin. She really helped me work through everything that was wrong with the last chapter to make it better. The new version of that chapter was posted at the end of August.  
-A huge **THANK YOU** to all the reviewers of this story. I know that I don't always respond to reviews since I often don't know what to say or (as was the case since last chapter) I end up too busy, but I always appreciate each and every review that I get. I reread reviews often, so don't be surprised if you end up getting a reply to a review left months ago!  
-I am so, _so_ sorry that this chapter took so long. I just graduated from college, and that last term was horribly busy. I wanted to have the chapter done in time for Christmas, but I had trouble finding inspiration again. So here it is, as a rather late Christmas/New Year's gift!  
-As a reminder, I'm using the American names when referring to the TV show of Digimon, and the Japanese names when referring to the "real people."  
-This here is a Taito. No lemon/lime, but there will be fluff. So if you don't like male/male pairings, don't read it!

--

**The Eleventh Pieces: Playing for Keeps**

It was _good_ to see Takeru again.

The little boy from the dreams and his sole picture was gone, replaced by a young man, lanky and tall and handsome, but something of the little boy he'd once been still shone through the older exterior. He was still undeniably Takeru.

"I've really missed you," Yamato said again, hugging Takeru tighter. His brain, which had seemed to stop the second he'd seen the boy standing in the Yagami family's kitchen, was slowly catching up with him. "What are you doing here?"

Takeru pulled out of Yamato's arms, but Yamato grabbed his hands, unwilling to break physical contact, lest Takeru vanish. "Hikari and I are friends," Takeru explained. "I ran into her and her friend—Sora?—recognized me. I've been looking for you, oniisan."

"But what are you doing _here_, in Odaiba?" Yamato attempted to clarify. He didn't want to question Takeru's presence in the kitchen, but for his brother to be in Odaiba at all seemed too good to be true.

"I live here again. We moved back, mom and I. I don't think she wanted to, but her office needed her here."

Yamato glanced at the others in the kitchen, looking for some sort of reassurance that he wasn't hallucinating. Sora and Hikari were smiling warmly at the brothers. Taichi had a smile on his face, but something darker was flickering in his eyes. Still, it didn't seem that Taichi's expression was one that he would've given a crazy person, so Yamato cautiously let go of Takeru's hands, silently praying that his brother's presence was not a dream. When Takeru was still there after his hands had been released, Yamato let out a small sigh of relief and tried to relax. "So… you're back?" he asked quietly. "For good?"

"Unless mom gets transferred again… yeah. I'm back." Takeru smiled and laughed lightly. "Actually, I'm kind of hoping that mom and dad will get back together. Maybe we could set them up…"

Yamato suddenly felt cold, color draining from his face. He quickly turned away from Takeru. "That can't happen," he said, trying to keep the ice out of his voice. He'd suspected before that Takeru had never been told about the accident, but with the suspicion confirmed, it was going to be hard to tell him…

"I-I know that they weren't on good terms the last time we lived here, but they've had time apart, and maybe…"

Yamato turned to Takeru again, drawing him back into a hug. He took a deep breath and braced himself for what was to come. It was hard for him to say it, but he knew it would be worse for Takeru to hear it. "Takeru…" he said softly, his voice wavering slightly, "dad is dead."

Takeru stiffened in his arms. "…What?" the younger boy choked out.

"He died a little over a year ago," Yamato explained. "I'm sorry, Takeru."

A few drops of moisture dampened Yamato's shirt as Takeru buried his head against his brother's chest. There was a pause, and then the floodgates opened and Takeru began to sob.

Yamato squeezed his eyes shut and simply held his brother closer.

--

Jealousy was a funny thing, Taichi had decided. A funny, illogical, and cruel thing.

Yes, the thing he'd felt rear its ugly head upon Takeru's appearance was _definitely_ jealousy. Takeru was now sobbing against Yamato's chest, and instead of feeling glad that the brothers had been reunited or feeling sympathy for the young man who had just found out that his _father_ was _dead_, Taichi only wanted Takeru to be somewhere other than in Yamato's arms.

Logic reasoned that they were brothers, and they hadn't seen each other in years. Jealousy bit back that Takeru had only been in the room for all of five seconds before Yamato had _initiated_ physical contact. Yamato _never_ initiated physical contact with _anyone_.

Taichi didn't want to be there any longer.

Sora and Hikari were still standing at the kitchen's entrance, worried looks on their faces. Taichi quietly crossed the room to where they were and whispered, "Let's leave them alone."

"But…" Sora began to protest.

Taichi cut off her objection, "The only one here that understands what Takeru is going through right now is Yamato. We're just in the way."

Sora and Hikari shared a look and then nodded slowly, allowing Taichi to usher them out of the kitchen. As he left, he gave Yamato one last glance.

He knew he was jealous, he just didn't know _why_.

--

Takeru had finished crying, but made no move to pull away from his brother. He held Yamato's shirt clenched in his hands, and the shirt was wet from his tears. He sniffed softly, trying to find a voice with which to speak.

"Yamato," he eventually managed in a hoarse whisper, "I think you should talk to mom."

"I have nothing to say to her," Yamato said curtly. Takeru winced slightly at his brother's tone.

"But…" he protested weakly, looking up at Yamato, "if dad's dead, why aren't you living with us? Why—does mom know?"

"She was at the funeral," Yamato replied in the same frosty tone as before.

Takeru looked down again, resting his forehead against Yamato. "So… why?"

"She doesn't want me, Takeru. And I don't need her."

Takeru shook his head. "That's all wrong; it _has to be_! Please, oniisan, just talk to her… for me?" he pleaded, trying his best not to cry again. "I want all of us to be together again… but I guess that's impossible now, isn't it?"

Yamato sighed lightly. "I'll… I'll talk to her. But not now. Not today."

"Okay," Takeru said, nodding slightly. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. I don't know if she and I can even have a civil conversation."

"But you'll try, right?" Takeru asked hopefully.

"_I'll_ try, but I can't guarantee that _she_ will," he said bitterly.

Takeru frowned. "Yamato…" he warned.

"Sorry," his brother muttered. "I'll be on my best behavior; I promise."

"When will you talk to her?" Takeru asked, pulling away.

Yamato looked away. "I don't know. Later. Sometime later."

Takeru bit his lip, thinking. "How about… How about next weekend? Would that be enough time?"

Yamato was silent, but nodded his consent after a moment. The silence was broken seconds later by the ringing of Takeru's cellphone. He answered it quickly, startled. "Hello?"

"Takeru," his mother's voice came, "I just got home… Where are you?"

"I'm at Hikari's; sorry, I forgot to leave a note," Takeru answered.

"That's fine," Natsuko said sweetly. "I just wanted to maker sure everything was all right."

"Everything's fine, mom."

Takeru glanced up at Yamato, who was frowning. "Can you stay for dinner?" Yamato asked softly.

Takeru grinned at his brother. "I'm going to have dinner over here," he said into the cellphone. "I'll be home later tonight."

"Okay, dear. Have a good time."

"I will. Bye mom."

He heard the faint click of Natsuko hanging up the phone, and he closed the cellphone, pocketing it. He glanced at the two plates on the table—one had been polished off, and the other hadn't been touched. Yamato moved to the table and silently wrapped the uneaten food from the second plated, putting it in the refrigerator.

"Didn't you already eat?" Takeru asked.

"Taichi did, but he's always hungry," Yamato explained, retrieving fresh food from the refrigerator.

Takeru watched Yamato set the ingredients on the counter and pull out utensils. "You cook now?"

Yamato smiled. "Yeah," he answered. "I always cooked for dad—he was _hopeless_ in the kitchen, and you can only eat out so often before you get sick of it." He looked at the food spread across the counter. "If Sora is still here, could you ask her if she'd like to stay for dinner?"

Takeru nodded and headed out of the kitchen. He found Sora with Taichi and Hikari in the living room. Sora and Taichi were speaking to each other in harsh whispers, but they stopped as soon as they noticed Takeru.

"Are you okay?" Hikari asked gently.

Takeru nodded. "Yeah." He looked at Sora, who was frowning at Taichi. "Sora," he said, getting the girl's attention, "Yamato wants to know if you'd like to stay for dinner."

Sora smiled. "I'd love to. I haven't had Mattie's cooking since before…" she trailed off, shifting uncomfortably.

"…since before dad died?" Takeru queried softly.

"…Um… yeah…" she confirmed in a small voice, dropping her eyes to the floor.

Taichi stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I'm going to talk to Yamato. I'll let him know that Sora's staying." He quickly shuffled towards the kitchen, disappearing from view.

The frown reappeared on Sora's face as she watched Taichi leave, and Hikari crossed the room to where Takeru stood. "Are you sure you're all right?" she asked softly.

"I can't say I'm happy, but… I'm over the shock," he replied. "But I'll be fine… Even thought dad's not here any more, at least I found Yamato."

--

"Sora says she'll say," Taichi declared as he entered the kitchen.

"Okay," Yamato confirmed, glancing up from the meat he was cleaning. "Thanks."

"Sure." Taichi looked down at the ground and then sat at the table silently. He wanted to talk to Yamato, but was at a loss for words… There was one question at the front of his mind, but he was afraid to learn the answer.

Yamato's back was turned to Taichi, and the brunette watched him as he went about preparing food for the five of them. After several silent minutes passed, Yamato spoke softly, "I want to thank you for leaving us alone after I told Takeru about dad. It… made things a little easier. Neither of us needed people watching that."

Taichi bit his lip, staring at the table. He couldn't tell Yamato that he'd taken Sora and Hikari and left for his _own_ sake rather than for the sake of the brothers. He's left to stop the jealousy that had been gnawing at his insides, but it hadn't even worked… He had still known that Yamato was with his brother, comforting him, and that unsettling feeling refused to die down, even while Sora had been trying to convince him that the brothers _needed_ them in there for comfort and support. Or so she had claimed, at least—when he'd asked, she didn't have a response for _how_ their presence was supposed to be comforting to the blondes.

And now, Yamato was _thanking him_ for a selfish action. The jealous feeling had finally died down, only to be replaced by guilt. "No problem," Taichi finally mumbled in reply. He was silent for a while longer until he worked up the courage to ask the question that had been on his mind since the revelation that Takeru was Yamato's brother. "…Are you… are you going to live with Takeru and your mom now?"

Yamato made no reply, continuing his preparations. After several silent minutes, Yamato slid the food into the oven and turned to Taichi. "As long as your parents don't mind… I'd like to stay here with you." He looked down to study his socks, missing Taichi's smug, triumphant smile. "I've missed Takeru _so much_, and living him again would be like a dream, but _that woman_ would make it a nightmare. My mother and I can't stand each other; I'd rather go back to supporting myself until graduation than having to live under the same roof as her."

Taichi's grin wavered. He hadn't won over Takeru after all… _But still_, Taichi told himself firmly, _even if it's just to avoid his mom, he said he wants to live _here… _with **me**._

"I'm sure mom and dad won't mind," Taichi assured Yamato. "They like you."

Yamato looked back up and gave Taichi a dazzling smile. "I hope you're right," he said.

Taichi was stunned. He'd _never_ seen Yamato smile like that before, and the smile replaced any lingering jealousy and guilt with some odd, nervous feeling that he couldn't quite name. He wanted to look away, to hide the blush he suspected _must_ have been creeping onto his face, but he couldn't manage to tear his eyes away from the blonde. Even when Yamato turned his back to Taichi in order to clean up, the brunette couldn't look away from him, and again couldn't find anything to say.

But he was desperate to say something, _anything_. "So…" he started, grasping at words, trying to find a topic of conversation, "you… you and Takeru are brothers. I feel like I should have seen it earlier; you two look just like each other—Hikari even pointed out before how similar you look."

Taichi suddenly looked down at the table, clamping his mouth shut. He may have wanted to talk to Yamato, but he _hadn't_ wanted to ramble… especially about Takeru. He didn't want to talk about Takeru at all, really, but he just _had to_ go and bring Yamato's little brother up again.

_Brilliant job, Taichi_, he thought sullenly. _Just brilliant._

Yamato finished his cleaning and joined Taichi at the table. The blonde was practically _glowing_ now. "I'd always worried that I wouldn't recognize Takeru," he confided, lacing his fingers together. "That even if we met on the street, we wouldn't know each other any more, wouldn't recognize each other, and would miss each other completely. Of course, I was also afraid that we'd never see each other again at _all_, but the fear we wouldn't recognize each other was greater. I'm…. I'm _so glad_ that I knew it was him."

A small smile crept onto Taichi's face in spite of himself. He may not have wanted to talk about Takeru, but Yamato was being so very _honest_ and _open_ with him that he couldn't help but be happy. But there was one other question that was starting to bother him more and more… He _knew_ Takeru's mom. Not as well as Hikari did, or Takeru, but well enough to know that she wasn't the person Yamato had described her to be. Takaishi-san had always seemed really nice… Taichi wanted to ask about the apparent bad blood between her and her eldest son, but he didn't want to spoil Yamato's exceedingly good mood, so he chose to remain silent. He'd take Yamato's word for it for now.

…Still, there had to be more to the story.

--

It was nearly midnight by the time Takeru finally decided he had better head home. Sora had left shortly after dinner, saying that she had to help her mother close their flower shop, but Takeru stayed as long as he could just to talk with Yamato in an attempt to make up for lost time.

"You shouldn't walk home alone," Yamato said, blocking Takeru's path to the door.

Takeru shook his head. "I'll be fine, oniisan. It's only a few blocks away, and I have my cellphone."

"But… it's dark…" his brother protested.

Takeru laughed. It felt so good to have Yamato worry over him again, even if it was unnecessary. He hadn't realized just how much he'd missed Yamato always being there until seeing him again… "Really, I'll be fine. I can call mom and have her pick me up if you're that worried."

Yamato frowned at the mention of their mother. "I can just walk you there…"

"And walk back by yourself?" Takeru questioned, a smirk tugging on his lips. If it was being alone at night that Yamato was so worried about, he had his brother _cornered_.

Yamato opened his mouth to protest, but Taichi interrupted, "I'll go with you two. That way, neither of you'll walk home alone."

Takeru nodded in assent, and Yamato smiled at Taichi in thanks. "I'll come, too!" Hikari chimed in, getting up to join them.

"No way; you're staying here," Taichi quickly declared. Then, with a teasing smile, "We'll be back in an hour or so. Don't stay up waiting for us."

Hikari stuck her tongue out at her brother, but didn't protest. She waved goodbye to them as the three boys headed out of the apartment and downstairs to the street.

"So…" Takeru started, still wanting to talk with his brother more. He would have stayed at the Yagami apartment longer if he could have, but he had school in the morning and didn't want to worry his mom. "I've heard about what you've been up to since we moved, and all about the bet you two made to become friends—"

"It wasn't a bet, it was a _promise_," Taichi cut in, protesting.

"I agree with Takeru; it was a bet," Yamato argued. "One you almost lost."

"I did _not_ almost lose it! _You're_ the one who got the date wrong!"

"Wrong date or not, I would have never spoken to you again if _you_ hadn't been so damn persistent. If you hadn't shown up on my doorstep when you did, I'd hate you. I'm not sure why I forgave you, really…" Yamato trailed off loftily.

"Gee thanks," Taichi pouted. "Nice to know you care."

Yamato laughed, and Takeru continued, "_Anyway_, I heard about all that, but I still want to know more! It's been so long that your tastes are bound to have changed… What do you like nowadays? What're your hobbies, and that kind of thing?"

"My likes?" Yamato questioned, thinking. "I like music still. And I like cooking a lot. And ice cream, and windows."

"And me!" Taichi volunteered.

"And annoying brunettes who don't know when to quit," Yamato deadpanned. Taichi stuck his tongue out at Yamato, who simply laughed again.

Takeru smiled at the two friends as they started bantering again. It was a side of Yamato that he hadn't seen before. He and his brother had been close, but not in the teasing way that Hikari and Taichi were; Yamato had never been like this with any of his friends when they'd been young. His smile grew, and he found himself laughing along with Taichi and Yamato as they continued teasing each other. Before he knew it, they'd arrived at his building. Yamato remained in the lobby, but Taichi followed Takeru upstairs.

"I'm back!" Takeru called as he opened the door and stepped inside. He knew his mom would still be awake; she always waited up for him when he was out late. Within seconds, Natsuko appeared in the hallway.

"Welcome back," she greeted, smiling. "Oh, Taichi, it's good to see you again."

Taichi smiled at her. "Nice to see you, too. Sorry we kept Takeru so late."

"Oh, that's fine. I know how much he enjoys being with you and Hikari," she said sweetly. "You didn't walk here, did you? I can drive you home…"

"Thank you, but I'll be fine. I've got a friend waiting for me downstairs," Taichi said smoothly. "It was nice seeing you again. Bye Takaishi-san, bye Takeru." He waved and walked away, returning to Yamato.

"Did you have a good time?" Natsuko asked Takeru once he'd closed the door behind Taichi.

Takeru smiled, thinking about everything that had happened that day. "Yeah," he replied. "I did."

--

Closing the shop had taken much longer that night than usual; it was just after midnight when Sora and her mother finally headed to their rooms above the shop.

"Oh, I'd almost forgotten!" Toshiko said, pausing in front of her bedroom door. "One of your friends stopped by this afternoon with a package for you. I put it on your desk."

"Thanks, mom," Sora replied with a smile. She'd been with Hikari all day, Taichi and Yamato had been together, Koushirou wasn't speaking with her, and she couldn't remember any of her out-of-town friends saying they'd be in Odaiba. Who else would've come over?

Entering her room, she crossed over to her desk, where a small, flat box wrapped in brown paper sat. Pulling off the paper carefully, she was greeted with a CD case that featured a cute illustration of Biyomon on the cover. Curious, she turned on her computer—a pretty white and pink Pineapple laptop—and popped the CD inside. She checked her email as the software was being installed, hoping to have received _something_ from Koushirou. She sighed; there were no new messages.

The program starting running as soon as installation had finished, and Sora stared at the screen in surprise. She grabbed the CD case to see if there was some sort of manual that would explain this, but no luck. This _had_ to be Koushirou's doing.

An animated rendition of Biyomon was on her screen, with a speech bubble floating above its head. "Hello Sora!" it read.

Sora hesitantly clicked on the Digimon, which ruffled its feathers at the action. She pressed a letter on the keyboard, and it popped up in a bubble underneath the greeting.

'Hello,' Sora typed.

"I have a message from Tentomon," Biyomon said. "Would you like to hear it?"

Sora blinked. Message? 'Yes,' she typed.

"Tentomon says, 'Koushirou-han says he's sorry, Sora.'"

"Kou-chan…" Sora whispered, choking back a laugh. "That's just like you, isn't it? Can't even let us apologize to each other in person…"

'Let Koushirou know I forgive him,' she typed, smiling. She blinked away a few tears that were starting to form in her eyes. 'And tell him that I'm sorry, too.'

"Okay, Sora!"

Sora leaned back in her chair and smiled. Everything was going to be okay again.

--

**Closing notes:** Finally up! Since there's nothing cliffy in this chapter, I'll leave you with this thought: doomsday is coming. Discuss.  
Also, for those of you who like Kingdom Hearts, I _might_ have a KH2 AkuRoku fic coming up soon. It kills me to start something else before I finish A Million Pieces, but the idea just won't leave me alone. Anyway, review if you'd like, and I'll see you next chapter!


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